Italy’s Regional Council of Calabria adopts document in support of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 15 Trend: Azerbaijan has always demonstrated loyalty and transparency in its relations with Italy and enjoys the trust of a partner having exceptional importance in international politics for Italy, Trend reports on March 15 referring to the embassy of Italy in Azerbaijan. “These views were outlined in the document "Appeal to the Italian government in connection with the expression of respect for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and the steps to strengthen the multidimensional strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Italy" adopted by the legislative body of the Italian region of Calabria - the Regional Council of Calabria,” the embassy said. “The Nagorno-Karabakh region, recognized throughout the world as part of Azerbaijan, along with seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts, was occupied by Armenia in the early 1990s, and all Azerbaijanis were expelled from both the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts,” the document, adopted on the initiative of member of the Regional Council of Calabria, Vito Pittaro, says. The relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly, as well as the documents of other international organizations, confirmed that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is an integral part of Azerbaijan, respect was expressed for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan and a demand was put forward for the immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces from the Azerbaijani territory and the return of all Azerbaijani internally displaced people (IDPs) to their lands. “A new war broke out on September 27, 2020 and the 44-day military operations ended on November 10, 2020 as a result of the signing of a trilateral statement by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia, envisaging a ceasefire regime and the return of the occupied territories to Azerbaijan,” the document says. The statement signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia on January 11, 2021 envisages the measures to restore and build the transport and communication routes in the region. The document also touches upon the position of Italy on this issue, emphasizing that the parties expressed support for the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of respect for the main principles of the Helsinki Final Act, in particular sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of international borders in accordance with the relevant documents of the UN and OSCE in the "Joint Declaration on Strengthening the Multidimensional Strategic Partnership between the Italian Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan" signed in February 2020. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation issued a statement on November 11, 2020 while the Permanent Commission on Foreign Affairs of the Italian Chamber of Deputies on November 18, 2020 adopted a resolution on the need to comply with the obligations upon the trilateral statement dated November 10, 2020. The document adopted by the Regional Council of Calabria also touches upon the Azerbaijan-Italy relations. The "Joint Declaration on Strengthening the Multidimensional Strategic Partnership between the Italian Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan" covers such important aspects as the importance of mutually beneficial cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy, the fact, that Italy is the main trade partner of Azerbaijan, the importance of strengthening ties between the parties in such strategic spheres as defense, energy, transport, logistics, cooperation and mutual support within the international organizations. The Regional Council of Calabria expressed its respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan, notifies the Italian government of its position, which is in line with the position of the Italian government and supports the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on respect for the principles of international law, sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, calls on the Italian government to call on the parties to fulfill the obligations specified in the statements signed by the president of Azerbaijan, the president of Russia and the prime minister of Armenia on November 10, 2020 [on ceasefire and cessation of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region] and January 11, 2021. The Regional Council of Calabria also calls on the Italian government to develop a concrete action plan aimed at strengthening the multidimensional strategic partnership with Azerbaijan, which has entered a new stage of development, freeing its territories from occupation, and to promote joint initiatives to intensify the relations with Azerbaijan, which is a leading partner.