NATO Secretary General made no mention of military exercises in Karabakh - spokesperson

Upon Tert.am’s request, Simone De Manso, Press Officer at the NATO General Headquarters in Brussels, commented upon Jens Stoltenberg’s recent speech at the Parliamentary Assembly, denying the Azerbaijani media’s earlier reports that Secretary General criticized the Armenian for conducting military exercises in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Azerbaijani media said that at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in The Hague, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg criticized Armenia for conducting military exercises in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The report was later denied by Tevan Poghosyan, a member of the Armenian delegation. What can you say in that connection?

The NATO Secretary General delivered a keynote speech at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in The Hague on 26 November. Thereafter he took questions from the audience. At no time the Secretary General mentioned military exercises in Nagorno-Karabakh. Answering a question from the audience, the NATO Secretary General said: “Both Azerbaijan and Armenia are valued partners of NATO. And we stated that again in Wales. And all Allies remain committed in their support to the territorial integrity and independence and sovereignty of Armenia and Azerbaijan. And that's the reason why we continue to support efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the Caucasus, based on these principles and the norms of international law, the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. But as I said, there's no direct NATO role in the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh. But we support the efforts to try to find a peaceful negotiated settlement. And we support the efforts by the three chairmen of the Minsk process to try to make sure that we are moving forward in a difficult and important conflict.”

Do you think NATO should express concerns over the increasing tension along the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact, highlighting Azerbaijan’s direct responsibility for the escalations?

On the same occasion, the NATO Secretary General expressed his concern with the recent incidents of violence, whilst underlining that there is no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and no alternative to a political solution. A full transcript of his speech and of the answers to the audience can be found on the NATO website under http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_115098.htm

Don’t you find that Azerbaijan is in breach of the principles outlined in the Helsinki Final Act, including peaceful settlement and non-use of force?

Clearly, there are many cease fire violations, and they cause military and civilian fatalities. The recent incidents are an escalation of violence and of serious concern. They underline the need for redoubled efforts to find a political settlement.

What do you think should be NATO’s role in the conflict settlement process?

There's no direct NATO role in the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh. We support the efforts to try to find a peaceful negotiated settlement through the Minsk Group process.