CoE should have access to Karabakh says its Secretary General

By Asbarez | Wednesday, 12 October 2016

Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (Photo: coe.int)

Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (Photo: coe.int)

STEPANAKERT (ArmRadio) —Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) Thorbjørn Jagland during the PACE autumn session on October 10 stressed the need for the Council of Europe to have access to Nagorno-Karabakh.

“We share the view of Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, that the organization should fulfill its mandate also in Nagorno-Karabakh, and politicization of the issue of access to Nagorno-Karabakh is inacceptable,” Ani Sargsyan, Spokesperson for the Karabakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in comments to News.am.

“The goal of the Council of Europe is to promote the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law throughout the European continent, and the unresolved Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict should not serve as an excuse for ignoring the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh,” she added.

“By impeding the visit of representatives of the Council of Europe to Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan demonstrates, first of all, its disregard for the goals and principles, which lie at the core of this organization,” Sargsyan stressed.

Europe does see that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh) is an established democratic state, albeit unrecognized.

Davit Babayan, Karabakh’s Presidential Spokesperson, noted the aforementioned while commenting on Monday’s statement by Jagland.

Jagland had stated that the CoE does not have any information on human rights from the Karabakh conflict zone, and had recalled that everyone has the right to choose.

In Babayan’s words, it is apparent that the statements and approaches by European analysts, diplomats, and politicians are undergoing a transformation in recent times.

“It’s clear to everyone: the right of nations to self-determination is inalienable, it’s a fundamental right, and it can’t be disregarded,” stressed Babayan.

He underlined that Azerbaijan’s attempts to achieve its objective with the help of petrodollars and caviar are futile.

“Time is not working in favor of Azerbaijan,” added Babayan. “An analysis of the recent trends shows that the NKR recognition issue is getting new impetus and entering a new phase.”

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