Home / Armenia / When it Comes to Karabakh, Poland Has No ‘Sense of Smell’

When it Comes to Karabakh, Poland Has No ‘Sense of Smell’

Polish Member of European Parliament (MEP) Tomasz Poreba, who recently visited the de-facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and has since been deemed a persona non grata in Azerbaijan, found that in order for his report on Armenia to be complete, he had to visit the capital of Karabakh, Stepanakert.

“As a rapporteur for the European Parliament, I have to write a report on Armenia. It would not have been objective without my visiting Karabakh. I hope that I will also be able to meet with Azerbaijani authorities in order to familiarize myself with their point of view,” he said in an interview with the newspaper Rzeczpospolita, stressing that his visit was unofficial, reports Regnum news agency.

In order to reassure Azerbaijani officials, the Polish Embassy in Baku issued a statement in which it said that “under international law, Nagorno-Karabakh is an inseparable part of Azerbaijan.” Karabakh’s acting foreign ministry, in turn, protested the statement.

Polish analyst Adam Baltser notes that all those countries that maintain relations with Azerbaijan recognize the country’s territorial integrity. “But in the debates on territorial integrity, Poland’s sense of smell was lacking,” he said.

“Our officials should learn not to make room for allegations that they support either conflicting party. In the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, we would better able take on the role of mediator, since we have good relations with both sides. It’s not a phenomena that you come across frequently; it’s not worth spoiling,” he said.