On May 31, the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Committee of the Australian Senate (upper house of the Australian Parliament) held hearings on Canberra's foreign and defense policy.
A number of issues, including Australia’s position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were discussed during the hearings.
Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon touched upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Referring to the statement that ‘Australia supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including Azerbaijan’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’ by Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti, Lee Rhiannon asked whether this corresponds to all basic principles of the OSCE Minsk Process supported by Australia.
Answering the question, Catherine Raper, Head of Europe and Latin America Engagement at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, reiterated that the Australian Government's long-term policy is to support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan as well as the non-recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state. She also reaffirmed Canberra’s support for the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group.
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