EU Presidency Statement - Inclusion of an additional item submitted by Azerbaijan

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia , the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

Mr. President,

As members of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the countries of the European Union support the continuous efforts of the MINSK group for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabach conflict. The recent meetings between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which took place in Prague regularly this year, have led to productive discussions. These discussions have given a strong impetus to the negotiations. The co-chairs have presented to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Astana in September their assessment of the situation and a road map for the continuation of the negotiations. They are now waiting for their answer. The EU countries are of the opinion that such a promising process, which is dealt with within the OSCE, should develop without interference. We understand the concerns of the delegation of Azerbaijan, but we believe that this session is neither the time nor the venue to pursue this and that the Azerbaijan initiative may jeopardize the on-going negotiations.

There was no unanimity in the General Committee on the inclusion of the issue of Nagorno-Karabach and the EU would have preferred the issue not to be voted for recommendation to the General Assembly.

In light of these considerations, the EU will therefore abstain on the vote on this agenda-item.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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