Enough changes in EU position on Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 2 / Trend M.Aliyev / The European Union attaches great importance to its relations with Azerbaijan, Director of Center of Political Innovations and Technologies, a political scientist Mubariz Ahmedoglu told reporters on Thursday. He said the statements made by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy during his visit to Baku, point to rather positive changes in organisation's position on Azerbaijan. "It is not only a time factor, but also the work carried out by the Azerbaijani side," Ahmedoglu said. The analyst said a change in the position of the EU in connection with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is in Azerbaijan's favor. "Being in Armenia, Van Rompuy said most of all about the EU's position on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is clearly seen that in the settlement of the conflict more responsibility falls to Armenia. Despite the fact that the path chosen by the EU supporting the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement is a subsidiary, in fact, it's a new approach, and if EU officials conduct a coherent policy, they will be able to achieve a breakthrough in this direction," he said. Ahmedoglu noted that the EU considers that political will of the civil society must be demonstrated in the conflict settlement. Speaking about the cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan in the energy sector, a political analyst pointed out that the EU agrees to sign an agreement associated with the TANAP project. In his view, the issue of connecting Turkmenistan to the project should be solved by the EU. The political scientist said that 52 members of the European Parliament want to create a group of friendship with Azerbaijan. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az