NATO supports the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and insists that, at this stage, the principles agreed upon between the parties till the present moment should not be changed, Javier Colomina, the special representative of NATO in the South Caucasus, stated in an interview with Armenpress in Brussels.
Colomina noted that respect for the fundamental principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty of countries, which is the basis of the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, is very important. The representative of NATO in the South Caucasus also referred to the role of Turkey in the process of normalizing Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, prospects of Armenia-NATO cooperation and other topics.
- Mr. Colomina you were recently in Armenia, you had various meetings. What were the main issues discussed? What conclusions have you drawn and what are your expectations for the near future?
- Yes, I was last week in Armenia. I met with the Prime Minister Mr. Pashinyan, with the Secretary of the Security Council Mr. Grigoryan, with the Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan, with Defence Minister Papikyan. Moreover, I also had the possibility to meet students and junior diplomats and I gave a lecture there. It was very substantial visit. We are very satisfied with the bilateral relationship that we have today with Armenia. We are also very encouraged by the decisions that Armenia has decided to take in their foreign policy and defense policy, the shift they have decided to implement. I know it is a decision that is difficult to implement and will probably take a long time, but, of course, we encourage our partners to get closer to us, and that is what Armenia is doing.
We also talked quite a lot, extensively I would say, about the situation in the regional context and particularly about the peace talks with Azerbaijan. As you know, our policy is very clear. We support the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We do not take sides between our partners, unless there is a violation of the principles and the main elements of the UN Charter that we are very attached to. Therefore, the message was very clear. We would like the peace talks to reconvene as soon as possible. We know there are different tracks, the bilateral track, the US track, the EU track. For us, the most important thing is the outcome at the end, is there lasting peace? Because that would be very important for the stability of the Caucasus.
- Of course, when talking about a lasting and sustainable peace, one should know that it is also one of the main goals of Armenia itself. But what developments can be expected from the Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement process? Especially having in mind the background of aggressive and destructive statements from Azerbaijan, which contain territorial aspirations/demands towards Armenia?
Well, I have heard many concerns from your authorities about the statements from President Aliyev in particular. For us, as I mentioned , the normalization of relations that lead to a lasting peace is a fundamental element today and we will be pushing for that, support whatever tracks brings the two nations to sign something like that. We are supporting the US; we are supporting the European Union. Actually, I was there at the same time that Tovio Klaar, the Special representative of the European Union.
Therefore, I had the opportunity to speak with him at length and we are supporting the bilateral track. At the end it is for the two nations to decide how they move on, so we will be supportive of everything that at the end of the day brings as an outcome a lasting peace. We believe that the principles that were set at the beginning of the process — of course respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity — are fundamental. I actually tweeted at the end of my visit on that. It is one of the principles that we are very attached to, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Of course, we believe that together with that principles, delimitation of borders, the connectivity, the principles that were set at the beginning of the process should be part of that process. Unless, of course, the two sides decide to change those principles and have different principles or other principles or more.
However, the agreed principles should not change at this stage. Therefore, as I said, I heard a lot of concern. I do not think that statements help the process move forward, that we will continue to send the same message to the partners; they need to reconvene the talks as soon as possible. Actually, I would like to add that my trip was supposed to be a regional trip. In addition, we had already worked with both capitals to make it regional, but at the beginning of January, Azerbaijan decided to postpone the visit because of the presidential elections, so I couldn't actually convey the messages that I was going to convey. One of those messages was a very clear message that we expect you guys to reconvene the peace talks as soon as possible.
