• Հայ
  • Eng
  • РУС
  • Az
January 30 in 60 seconds January 30 in 60 seconds 20:57
President El-Sisi Meets United States Secretary of State Blinken President El-Sisi Meets United... 20:04
Russia interested in the security and prosperity of the South Caucasus: Russian MFA Russia interested in the... 19:57
  • Programs
  • Artsakh under attack
  • COVID19
  • Political
  • Economic
  • Public
    • National security
  • Law
  • Investigation
  • Army
    • Eye on the border
  • Artsakh
  • State of emergency
  • Regions
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Cultural
  • Sport
  • Region
Political 22:1224 Jan, 2023

Remarks by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan for exchange of views at Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) of European Parliament

On January 24, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan delivered remarks at the discussion held by Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament, where he noted:

“Dear Chairman,

First of all, thank you for accommodating our request to have an exchange of views in this format. It’s definitely not the first time that AFET is focusing its attention on Armenia. Nevertheless, I highly value this opportunity to address the AFET in person and have an open discussion.

Dear members of the European Parliament, dear colleagues,

I would like to continue with sincere words of gratitude to the European Parliament as a whole and to each of you personally, for the clear positions on issues of utmost importance to my country.

The holding of urgency debates and adoption of resolutions in the course of the past two years on the issues of the Armenian prisoners of war, the destruction of cultural heritage and most recently the humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh, were all adequate and objective responses to the unprecedented challenges that the people in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh are facing, challenges that also continue to threaten the stability and security in our region. All of them were perfectly summed up in the 2022 CFSP report. For that, I would like to extend special thanks to you, Mr McAllister and all MEPs who worked on this report and contributed to the inclusion of the paragraphs on Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh which objectively reflect the situation in our region.

Of course, I could not but welcome the unambiguous statements and every vote in the European Parliament cast in favour of resolving the mentioned humanitarian issues. Your strong voice was heard in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. I hope it was heard and heeded in Baku as well. I really hope that other European Institutions will be brave and fair enough as the European Parliament regarding the issues of the South Caucasus.

The strong and clear messages from the European Union, including its legislative body, are truly important: firstly, the EU remains Armenia’s primary partner in promoting the institution-building and supporting our reform agenda based on our shared values, and secondly, despite all the challenges, we continue to expand the scope of our partnership based on the EU's commitment to contribute to the stability in our region.

We do believe that our security architecture cannot be comprehensive without respect for human rights and democracy. We’ve been undertaking reforms aimed at strengthening human rights and rule of law, consolidating good governance and fighting against corruption, aiming to ensure prosperity for our people. I have many things to say about Armenia’s achievements in democratic reforms however today I won’t go into details due to time constraints. I can reassure you that we are committed to continuing the path of democratic reforms and hope for further support from our partners.

With regard to the EU’s valuable contribution to the stability of our region, I would like to applaud Foreign Affairs Council for yesterday’s decision to deploy a long-term Monitoring mission to Armenia. I would like to highlight that this mission is about human security - people living in the bordering regions, children going to schools, farmers carrying out their agricultural duties, and families that want to live in their houses without fear of being targeted. Concrete people, concrete schools, concrete houses.

Dear colleagues,

For the last two years, the Armenian government, receiving the vote of our citizens to pursue peace agenda and having the political will to normalize relations with Azerbaijan, has been engaged in good faith in talks on three separate tracks: first, the opening of all transport communications in the region, second, delimitation and border security, and the third, the agreement on normalization of relations or peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Without overloading you with all the details, I would like to bring to your attention a few points.

Right after the establishment of a working group on the opening of communications, Azerbaijan, self-interpreting the text of the Trilateral Statement of November 9th 2020, started to demand an extraterritorial corridor. I want to state that Armenia is ready to open all communications at the very moment when Azerbaijan will accept that the roads should be operating under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the states they are passing through.

Months after the establishment of Commissions on the delimitation of borders, Azerbaijan not only raised new territorial claims but also tried to justify its last aggression with a fake argument that the border is not delimited. Ironically, these Commissions were established after the first Azerbaijani invasion into the sovereign territory of Armenia in May 2021, aiming also to prevent any further hostilities.

Third, we started to negotiate the text of a peace treaty between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Regrettably, the vast majority of fundamental suggestions on the peace treaty proposed by the Armenian side have been rejected by Azerbaijan.

Among the suggestions are clarification of parameters for the delimitation of the state border, as we think that without clearly agreed parameters on the delimitation of the international borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, real peace is impossible. Next is the distancing of forces from the state border and the creation of a demilitarized zone for preventing any possible future escalation as well as confidence-building measures and security mechanism, Institute of Guarantor(s) of the Peace treaty, which will ensure the implementation of the obligations.

In a nutshell, Azerbaijan expects Armenia to only accept all its demands, and when not getting it, Azerbaijan uses all possible instruments of pressure: from keeping Armenian POWs as hostages to the state-sponsored spread of hate speech against Armenians, from warmongering rhetoric to concrete use of force.

We accepted Azerbaijan’s suggestion to discuss the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in parallel, separate tracks. In contrast, Azerbaijan started to claim that Nagorno-Karabakh is their internal issue, opposing Armenia’s concrete suggestion to create an international mechanism of talks between Baku and Stepanakert.

It is also clear that so far Azerbaijan’s actions, including the blockade of the Lachin corridor, once again have proven the absolute necessity of international engagement to address the issues of rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Dear colleagues,

At this very moment, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh remain under inhumane siege because of the blockade of the Lachin corridor - the lifeline, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. Having had the urgency debate and adopted the resolution on the “Humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh” last week, you are well aware of the situation.

There is one aspect that I would like to emphasize: it is not an isolated episode but must be seen as part of a widespread and systematic policy of Azerbaijan aimed at the ethnic cleansing of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. By creating unbearable living conditions, Azerbaijan aims to coerce the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to leave their homes and native land. The recent statement of the President of Azerbaijan suggesting the deportation of those Armenians who do not want to become citizens of Azerbaijan comes to prove once again their intention of ethnic cleansing.

As the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh is worsening with each passing day, the immediate intervention of the international community is required. As indicated in the EP urgency resolution last week, it is imperative to send an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground, as well as to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh for relevant UN bodies.

We cannot stand by and watch how people are slowly starving to death, because of political games and perhaps geopolitical considerations. Let me put it straight: there are two theoretical options for lifting the blockade of the Lachin corridor: military or diplomatic. Armenia adheres to the second option, but that’s possible only with a decisive intervention and strong pressure on Azerbaijan and tangible actions towards that end by the international community. The time to act is now. Azerbaijan should face consequences for its actions. It should be explained to Azerbaijan that there are certain international rules to which everybody has to abide”.

Following the remarks, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan answered the questions of the members of the European Parliament.

Views 200
facebook icon twitter icon
Հիմա եթերում
News
  • January 30 in 60 seconds 20:5730 Jan, 2023
  • Finland to stick with Sweden in NATO bid, hopes for green light by July 20:5130 Jan, 2023
  • Turkey may lose US market due to non-compliance with sanctions against Russia and Iran 20:3130 Jan, 2023
  • President El-Sisi Meets United States Secretary of State Blinken 20:0430 Jan, 2023
  • Two foundations of Artsakh decided to temporarily stop accrual of interest and penalties on liabilities 20:0430 Jan, 2023
  • Russia interested in the security and prosperity of the South Caucasus: Russian MFA 19:5730 Jan, 2023
  • Azerbaijan cannot silence or frighten me: Marina Kaljurand 19:4530 Jan, 2023
  • No record of Latvian MEP's 'official' Azerbaijan trip: euobserver 19:4030 Jan, 2023
  • Holy Land church leaders condemn settler attack in Jerusalem’s Christian quarter 19:1730 Jan, 2023
  • Armen Grigoryan and adviser to Prime Minister of Netherlands emphasized steps taken by international community in matter of unblocking Lachin Corridor 19:0130 Jan, 2023
  • Hungary-Azerbaijan high-level meetings held in Budapest 18:4430 Jan, 2023
  • Prime Minister meets with the leaders of extra-parliamentary political forces 18:2030 Jan, 2023
  • It is positive process: Artak Zeynalyan on hearings at UN International Court of Justice 18:1230 Jan, 2023
  • Iran summons senior Ukraine diplomat over comments on drone strike 17:4730 Jan, 2023
  • Every effort must be made at international level to find peaceful solutions for good of people: Pope on Lachin blockade 16:3130 Jan, 2023
  • In 2022, EBRD invested 117 million euros in economy of Armenia 16:0230 Jan, 2023
  • Performance report 2022 of the Military Industry Committee presented to the Prime Minister 15:4930 Jan, 2023
  • Blast kills at least 30, wounds 150 at mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar 15:3530 Jan, 2023
  • If UN Court of Justice does not take immediate measures, Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians will face an impossible choice: Yeghishe Kirakosyan 15:2430 Jan, 2023
  • Turkey may give a message about Finland that can shock Sweden: Erdogan 15:1130 Jan, 2023
  • Catholicos of All Armenians sent letter of condolence to President of Iran 14:3730 Jan, 2023
  • 'I'm more angry now, more committed' to running for president: Trump 14:2830 Jan, 2023
  • Turkey says it could evaluate Finland NATO bid separate from Sweden 14:2330 Jan, 2023
  • U.S. issues another warning of possible terrorist attacks in Turkey 13:3130 Jan, 2023
  • We are deeply concerned by recent acts of violence in Jerusalem: Vahan Hunanyan 12:0130 Jan, 2023
  • ICRC representatives visited all Armenians detained in Azerbaijan 11:3730 Jan, 2023
  • Today, 19 people transferred from Artsakh to Armenia through ICRC mediation 11:2530 Jan, 2023
  • Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran suspends its work: Foreign Ministry 11:2130 Jan, 2023
  • Public hearings between Armenia and Azerbaijan are starting at International Court of Justice of the United Nations 10:0230 Jan, 2023

All rights reserved

© 2022 1lurer.am

26, G․ Hovsepyan Str., Yerevan, Nork 0011

+374 10 650015