European Reaction to Azerbaijani ''Blitzkrig''

• 04.06.2016, 17:16
•  Europe,  NKR

In these days the military operations in NKR drew the attention of the world press and many international leaders. The European countries, in particular, immediately responded to the incidents, strongly condemning the armed conflict and making some very general statements mainly against the two warring sides.

Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini, for instance, called on the parties to stop the fighting immediately and observe the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh. The EU High Representative’s comments came at an official statement released by the European Union External Action Service.

''Reports of heavy fighting along the line of contact are deeply worrying. I call on the parties to stop the fighting immediately and observe the cease-fire. The sides must show restraint and avoid any further actions or statements that could result in escalation,” reads the statement, which also says ''the European Union fully supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and the three Co-Chairs.''

She then added that both sides are expected to respect strictly the ceasefire, refrain from the use of force and resume efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.''

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Pedro Agramunt in turn called on the sides to the Karabakh conflict to observe the ceasefire.

''Deeply worried about the escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, I call on both sides to observe the cease-fire and resume negotiations,” PACE President says in a tweet.

''We are deeply concerned by recent disturbing news from the Line of Contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan'', - The European Peoples Party statement told.

''It is unacceptable to reject international commitment to resolve the conflict politically, through the exclusively peaceful means, particularly, when the victims of this military adventurism are also innocent civilians, including children. We consider it necessary to take practical steps to immediately cease the military actions, to withdraw military troops to the positions they had before the 1st of April 2016. We strongly support to return to the negotiation process mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs.''

British Minister of State for Europe David Lidington also called for all sides to halt the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.

''I am appalled and highly concerned by the upsurge in fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and by the resulting loss of life. It is essential that the sides act urgently to halt the fighting and exercise restraint subsequently. I call upon both Armenia and Azerbaijan to engage constructively and intensively in the search for a negotiated peaceful settlement through the Minsk Group process,'' he said.

His counterpart in Berlin, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that he is very concerned about the military escalation along the Line of Contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and about the casualties, including among civilians.

''I call upon the sides to end hostilities immediately and to respect the ceasefire in full. There is no military solution to the conflict. The sides must now show the necessary political will to return to the negotiations in the framework of the Minsk Group. The Minsk Group Co-Chairs enjoy my full support in their task.''

As for the media coverage, Euronews was the first to publish video reports of combat operations and the destruction of both the helicopters and tanks. The prestigious British BBC newspaper in turn referred to the history of the conflict and the war in the early 1990s.

In any case, it is a pity that the majority of the European media has had a very superficial and general coverage of the NKR events, not getting involved in the war details, its motivations and so on.