European Parliament adopted a
resolution on “Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2023”, which includes reference to Azerbaijan’s policies and condemnations.
The EP press office published the resolution, where the sections on Azerbaijan said the European Parliament:
Condemns the policies of aggression, including the pre-planned military attack of Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh; recalls that this attack follows months of organised starvation and isolation of the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh through the blockade of the Lachin corridor; underlines that the so-called Russian peacekeepers on site did not take any action to prevent or end the blockade or to stop the Azeri military assault against Nagorno-Karabakh; condemns the military support provided by non-EU countries to Azerbaijan; is seriously concerned about the consequences on the civilian population which amount to de-facto ethnic cleansing; reiterates its view that the attack carried out by Azerbaijan cannot remain without consequences, and calls for the EU to take sanctions against the Azerbaijani authorities responsible for multiple ceasefire violations and to suspend the Memorandum of Understanding on Energy; calls for the EU to suspend negotiations over a new partnership agreement with Azerbaijan in the light of recent events and the country’s dramatic human rights situation;
Welcomes the establishment of the civilian European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA), which aims to help increase security in the region by decreasing the number of incidents in conflict-affected and border areas in Armenia, to reduce the level of risks for the population living in such areas and thereby to contribute to the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the ground, while at the same time increasing the visibility of the EU in the region; calls on the Council to increase the number of experts deployed as part of EUMA, to increase the mission’s capacity and to extend its deployment timeframe for five more years and its geographical scope to potentially include the Armenia-Türkiye border;
Calls on the EEAS to be prepared to provide the necessary technical assistance to Armenia through the EPF instrument, in order for Armenia to reconsider its current military alliances, as this would strengthen the resilience of Armenia in the context of ensuring security, independence and sovereignty and lead to more comprehensive and enhanced defence cooperation between the sides; requests the EEAS to provide, in confidential mode, the EUMA reports on the situation on the ground to Parliament’s Committee of the Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Subcommittee on the Security and Defence (SEDE);
Calls on the Council to be prepared to impose targeted and individual sanctions against perpetrators of aggression, including but not limited to the political and military entourage of President Aliyev, and suspend imports of oil and gas from Azerbaijan, in the event of any military aggression against Armenian territorial integrity by Azerbaijan.
