On 9 February the European Parliament (EP) Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) adopted the report on EU-Armenia relations 2021/2022, which underlines key points regarding the relations of the European Union and Armenia in accordance to EU-Armenia. The report also addresses the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh / Artsakh and the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The EP Foreign Affairs Committee condemns the military incursions by Azerbaijan into the sovereign territory of Armenia since May 2021. Besides highlighting the Azerbaijani violations of the interstate border and urging the return to initial positions, the Committee confirms that the Azerbaijani aggression of September 2022 was not related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The report reaffirms that a comprehensive peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan must guarantee the integrity of the sovereign territory of Armenia, the rights and the security of the Armenian population residing in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The reports emphasizes that the root cause of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, i.e. the status of the formerly autonomous region and the security of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, remains unresolved.
Concerning the implementation of Article 9 of the 9 November 2020 ceasefire statement, the EP Foreign Affairs Committee underlines that the unblocking of transport and communication links between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic cannot not infringe on the territorial integrity of Armenia.
As in the EP resolution adopted in 20 May 2021, the report urges Azerbaijan to immediately release all the Armenian prisoners of war under its control.
AFET calls for granting of access to international humanitarian organisations, especially the United Nations, to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Finally the MEPs urge both parties, but especially Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from any hostile rhetoric or actions that may be perceived as inciting hatred or outright violence.
Kaspar Karampetian – the president of the EAFJD commented, ’’The report includes key points concerning the Azerbaijani aggression against the Republic of Armenia and the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It stresses that sustainable peace requires comprehensive political settlement in accordance with the UN Charter and the OSCE Helsinki Final Act, namely 3 Basic principles, including the Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples.”
Karampetian added that the EU leadership must duly consider the position of the European Parliament in its policy.
”The EAFJD and all its committees in Europe are committed to work on the ground with all partners to stand up for the fundamental rights of the Armenian people”, concluded Karampetian.
