A symposium on the 26th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide was held at the German Bundestag on Feb. 22
The event, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the massacre of Azerbaijanis in Khojaly, was organized by the Azerbaijani Embassy in Germany, the Azerbaijan-German Forum and the German Atlantic Society with the support of the German representation of SOCAR.
The head of the German Foreign Ministry Department for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, Diplomat Andreas Peschke noted that the tragedy of Khojaly left deep traces in people's memory and became the most acute escalation of the conflict. Peschke noted the crucial importance of resolving the conflict for the restoration of cooperation and trust between the sides.
The German diplomat drew attention to the high level of relations between the FRG and Azerbaijan. He also mentioned the opening of the Goethe Institute in Baku in December 2017. According to the representative of the German Foreign Ministry, Azerbaijan, which is implementing the international transport projects, has managed to become the regional transport hub.
During the discussions, Honorary Consul of Azerbaijan in Germany Otto Hauser noted the fallacy of the widespread opinion that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is ‘frozen’, and warned about the danger of maintaining the current status quo.
The deputy of the Bundestag, Mark Hauptmann (CDU), expressed his regret that, despite the fact that Azerbaijan is affected party and a gross violation of the international law towards Azerbaijan, the conflict has not been resolved yet. He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that, despite the adoption of the resolution on the recognition of the so-called ‘Armenian genocide’ by the German Bundestag, the occupation policy of Armenia is perceived rather calmly.
