Epress.am News from Armenia
During NATO Parliamentary Assembly's Rose-Roth Seminar taking place in Baku, members of the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations got into an argument today on the topic of the Karabakh conflict, reports Contact.az, citing Turan news agency.
During discussion of settlement of the conflict, Armenia's representatives, Richard Giragosian and Tevan Poghosyan, said the use of the term "occupation" is not acceptable. They said what happened in Karabakh was a "people's movement" and "resistance against the violation of citizens' rights"; thus, we cannot speak of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan.
Armenia's representatives also said conflict settlement is impossible without Nagorno-Karabakh's participation in the negotiation process.
In response, Azerbaijan's representatives, Ziyafet Asgarov, Siyavush Novruzov, and Zahid Orunj, said that Armenia "has a direct connection with aggression," as evidenced by 4 UN resolutions, which the Armenian side ignores.
"The Armenian side's attempts to justify aggression and present it as a struggle for self-determination drive conflict settlement into a dead-end," said Azerbaijan's representatives.
The dispute ended only when NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Hugh Bayley urged the parties to move the discussion to the level of "constructive dialogue".
Earlier, the newspaper Yeni Musavat reported that Azerbaijani activists of the Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) held a protest against the Armenian representatives' participation in the seminar.
The protest was held outside the Four Seasons Hotel, where the Armenian delegates are staying.
Later, police seized the activists' posters and dispersed them.
Participating in the Rose-Roth Seminar in Baku from Armenia are head of the Armenian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Koryun Nahapetyan, secretary of the Heritage Party faction Tevan Poghosyan, and Regional Studies Center Founding Director Richard Giragosian.