'Partisan' Nagorno-Karabakh Group Will Only Promote War, Says Chairman of the Azerbaijani Delegation to Euronest

Luxembourg MEP Frank Engel, who is a member of both the European People's Party (EPP) and the Europe-Armenia Advisory Council, formed the body to promote what he calls the "Democratic Republic" of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Luxembourg MEP Frank Engel, who is a member of both the European People's Party (EPP) and the Europe-Armenia Advisory Council, formed the body to promote what he calls the "Democratic Republic" of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In launching the group last week, Engel openly acknowledged the role played in its establishment by the Armenian lobby in Europe.

This has drawn a critical response from Azerbaijan, which has reminded the EPP that under Armenia's illegal occupation, Nagorno-Karabakh is neither democratic nor is it a republic recognised by a single United Nations member state. Instead, said Chairman of the Azerbaijani Delegation to Euronest Elkhan Suleymanov, it is a "military experiment of Armenia".

"The occupation has been condemned by every single international organisation in the world and this so-called regime has not been recognised by any state of the world," Suleymanov said.

He has written to the leadership of the EPP, calling for Engel's censure and exclusion on the grounds that he is using his position to support a partisan cause.

After a summer of military incursions that left scores dead, Suleymanov said Engel's project will be seen as a "blank cheque" for further aggression.

His open letter was addressed to European People's Party Chairman Joseph Daul, Antonio López-Istúriz, the EPP Secretary General, Manfred Weber, the EPP Chairman in the European Parliament and Martin Kamp, EPP Secretary-General in the European Parliament.

"I am appalled to see Mr Engel use his position and chairmanship of the Luxembourg delegation in the European Parliament in this way," Suleymanov said.

"I ask from you for the immediate censure and exclusion of Mr Frank Engel from all EPP-affiliated organs."

He also rejected Engel's claim that such a group could assist the peace role of the Minsk group which, Suleymanov noted, has done nothing to enforce a single international resolution calling for Armenia's immediate withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories.