The 86th NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) Rose-Roth Seminar, which is devoted to the South Caucasus, kicked off Monday in the Azerbaijani capital city Baku.
The event has brought together representatives from 28 member, including partner, countries, reported the APA news agency of Azerbaijan
The regional processes will be discussed in the three-day seminar.
From Armenia, ruling Republican Party MP Koryun Nahapetyan, who heads the National Assembly (NA) delegation to the NATO PA, and opposition Heritage Party NA Faction Secretary Tevan Poghosyan, who is a member of the aforesaid delegation, are participating in the seminar.
In addition, Armenian capital city Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center Director, political analyst Richard Giragosian has been invited as a rapporteur on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
Firstly, director of the LINKS Analysis and Oxford University Dennis Sammut delivered a speech. He noted that the Karabakh conflict should be settled peacefully.
“This issue should be based on the territorial integrity, self-determination of the peoples. Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity has been violated and it should be restored,” he stated.
The Armenian delegation, however, protested the aforesaid and raised the placards with their names.
Nahapetyan protested against Sammut’s speech. Subsequently, he considered as an aggression the demand of speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament Ogtay Asadov’s speech regarding Azerbaijan’s “occupied” territories. He urgently demanded that, “Together with Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic should also be noted in these discussions as a party to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
In addition, Nahapetyan tried to focus on the self-determination of the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Sammut, for his part, repeated his view and reminded that the conflict is between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
In turn, Tevan Poghosyan stated that Sammut and other international analysts support the position of official Baku because the Rose-Roth Seminar is held in Azerbaijan.
Thereafter, the Armenian MP recalled the four UN resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh.
“I offer [you] to get familiarized with the text of the resolution. Look at what has been written there and then call Armenia an occupier,” he stated.
Furthermore, Poghosyan accused Azerbaijan of interfering in Armenia-Turkey relations and noted that it is Armenia which is actually under a blockade.
Subsequently, Ahmet Berat Conkar, a member of the Turkish delegation to the NATO PA, claimed that Azerbaijan does not interfere in the relations between Armenia and Turkey.
“This is Armenia’s choice that it is under a blockade. Armenia actually occupied Azerbaijan’s territories. Our united position is clear: The border will be opened when Armenia withdraws its troops from Azerbaijan’s territories,” Conkar stated.
The seminar continues after the first break.
