Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.3 / Trend, S. Agayeva /
Armenia has rejected an EU proposal to hold a presidential meeting of the South Caucasus countries in Warsaw within the Eastern Partnership summit.
"High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton made a proposal to meet with the presidents of the three South Caucasus countries and jointly discuss regional issues," the Azerbaijani Embassy in Belgium said on Monday.
"Despite Ashton's proposal, the meeting was not organized because Armenia, constantly urging the EU to promote regional cooperation in South Caucasus, refused from the meeting."
The second summit of the Eastern Partnership was held in Warsaw on Sept. 29-30. Azerbaijan was represented at the summit at the highest level.
The Joint Declaration was adopted after the summit. The participants stressed the importance of the Eastern Partnership to promote stability.
The need was stressed to rapidly and peacefully resolve conflicts on the basis of norms and principles of international law and adopted decisions and documents.
"The Armenian delegation opposed including these provisions in the text of the Joint Declaration," the message said. "However, despite these objections, the summit participants did not accept Armenia's unconstructive position and its unsubstantiated arguments."
The importance of strengthening the EU role in conflict settlement within the agreed formats and processes was stressed. The appointment of EU Special Representative for South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia was also emphasized.
Philippe Lefort was appointed as the new EU special representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia in August.
Lefort will replace Pierre Morel and Peter Semneby from Sept. 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.