YEREVAN. – The European Union (EU) needs to express its own position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict issue.

Azerbaijani Deputy FM Mahmoud Mamedkuliev stated the aforesaid in response to a question posed by Armenian News-NEWS.am.

He spoke with news reporters within the framework of the informal discourse among the FMs of the Eastern Partnership member countries, which is held in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan.       

In Mamedkuliev’s view, the EU’s respective position should not be limited to the passive decisions by the OSCE Minsk Group. He added that this unresolved conflict is the main factor which gets in the way of regional development and integration.       

“The EU should participate in the process. This does not mean it should be involved, but it must express a position, since the current situation is unacceptable. The EU should make use of its capacities to resolve these conflicts. The conflict continues,” the Azerbaijani deputy FM stated.

As per Mamedkuliev, the matter is about the EU’s demeanor, which is not restricted along the lines of formalities.   

“A co-chair on conflicts is appointed; he comes and goes. Of course, we are talking about direct engagement, since the EU is not a Minsk Group Co-Chair. But France is in it [i.e., the co-chairs]. There must also be a shared EU position. But today they say: ‘The [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict should be resolved within the framework of the Minsk Group, and we will accept that decision.’ I do not think that this is a position,” Mahmoud Mamedkuliev concluded.