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Member of the House of Lords: Armenia should accept the offer from Azerbaijan and engage in serious and substantial dialogue

24 March 2022 12:30 (UTC +04:00)

"Most recently, Azerbaijan offered five principles to Armenia on which both sides can begin drafting a final peace deal. However, Armenia continues to drag its feet and on other proposals of normalisation," wrote Lord Kilclooney, Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijani Group of the British Parliament in his article about post-conflict situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia published in PoliticsHome website, APA's Britain bureau reports.

"Most recently, Azerbaijan offered five principles to Armenia on which both sides can begin drafting a final peace deal. However, Armenia continues to drag its feet and on other proposals of normalisation. It has failed to provide accurate mining maps and other relevant data to Azerbaijan, causing dozens of civilian deaths and injuries as a result of unexploded devices since 2020. This failure represents a clear breach of international humanitarian law obligations. They have also been silent on the demands from Azerbaijan to share information on the whereabouts of 4,000 Azerbaijani people who have been missing since hostilities in 1990s.

In violation of the 2020 trilateral ceasefire agreement, Armenia continues to hamper efforts to unblock regional transportation routes, including the so-called Zangezur corridor.

I firmly support attempts to rebuild the region of South Caucasus, vital for UK interests – not least for its rich energy sources. The continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrates the importance of producing lasting solutions to conflicts, including the one between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia should accept the offer from Azerbaijan and engage in serious and substantial dialogue to achieve full normalisation on the basis of international principles, including recognition of territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders.

Here in the UK, we have to make our best efforts to contribute to this normalisation by encouraging both sides to engage positively and constructively.

As a country fully committed to the protection of territorial integrity and sovereignty, Azerbaijan has provided vital medical supplies worth over 10 million euros to the people of Ukraine, while also offering to host direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Baku. This is in stark contrast to the policies of Armenia, Russia’s closest ally in South Caucasus, which continues to host two Russian military bases on its territories and acting effectively as the latter’s outpost in the region.," the article reads.