Peace in the South Caucasus is one of the main issues on the agenda of the European Parliament’s May session opened on May 18. The EU considers that it should play a more active role in the region, develop a strategy that would strengthen stability and prosperity and facilitate the resolution of regional conflicts.
May 20, Evgeni Kirilov (Bulgaria) European Parliament’s rapporteur for the South Caucasus is to submit a report on the need of strategy in the region, the NEWS.am correspondent reports from Strasburg. After debates the resolution will put to the vote.

The report points out regional conflicts, Nagorno-Karabakh. The European Parliament expresses its unambiguous position on the unacceptability of status quo. The report says ther Parliament fully backs the OSCE Minsk Group’s efforts to settle the conflict. It is noted that the internationational community should focus its efforts on refugees’ rights.

“The interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh could imply interim legitimisation of the de facto authorities there; believes that inter alia in order to raise their credibility with a view to such a prospect, these authorities should rapidly abandon the positions that Nagorno-Karabakh includes all Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani lands and that displaced persons’ right of return cannot even be discussed at the present stage,” the report reads.

The report also calls on Armenia and Turkey to ratify and implement the Protocols without preconditions.

A.G.