24 July, Brussels: On the initiative of MEP (Member of the European Parliament) Costas Mavrides (S&D, Cyprus), twenty-nine MEPs from seven political groups sent a letter to the EU High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, regarding the recent escalation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
The MEPs call on the EU to use its leverage to put in place genuine and effective confidence-building measures and urge the authorities of Azerbaijan to install the OSCE investigative mechanism for cease-fire violations. At the same time, they remind that Armenia has already agreed to discuss the details of the implementation of this mechanism and Azerbaijan must do the same. The latter has been rejecting it.
The MEPs reiterate their full support for the OSCE Minsk group as well as for the 2009 Basic Principles, namely the non-use of force, territorial integrity and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples. The parliamentarians also express their concern regarding hate-speech and war rhetoric and urge the EU to address these issues. The Members of the European Parliament stress that there can be no military solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
Commenting on the initiative of the MEPs, the President of the EAFJD Kaspar Karampetian stated: “Instead of threatening with war, causing loss of human lives and suffering on both sides, it is crucial that Azerbaijan follows the demand of the MEPs and finally implements confidence-building measures, in particular the OSCE investigative mechanism for ceasefire violations. The EAFJD also welcomes the calls of the MEPs to address hate speech in the region, notably the state-driven policy of anti-Armenianism in Azerbaijan that has reached extremely dangerous levels. One of the focal points of our work is to condemn and sensitize on this dangerous policy which has poisoned a whole generation in Azerbaijan and effectively endangered a peaceful resolution of the conflict”.
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Here is the original letter:
Honourable High Representative/Vice-President,
Dear Mr. Borrell,
Amid a global pandemic, we have been witnessing a dangerous escalation of the situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan since 12 July 2020, leading to tragic losses on both sides and with a potential to turn into a war, destabilizing the whole region and thus the eastern neighbourhood of the European Union.
While clearly expressing our full support for the efforts of the OSCE Minsk group and the 2009 Basic Principles i.e. the non-use of force, territorial integrity and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples, it is essential to actively work towards tackling hate-speech and war rhetoric.
It is crucial that the EU uses its leverage to put in place genuine and effective confidence-building measures, notably the OSCE investigative mechanism for cease-fire violations which would prevent the sides from blaming each other for initiating deadly attacks. Armenia has agreed to discuss the details of the mechanism. Azerbaijan must do the same.
The sides must immediately resume negotiations and work towards a sustainable, peaceful resolution of the conflict. It is evident that there can be no military solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. It is our goal to have a peaceful, prosperous and safe EU neighbourhood and we must take concrete steps in this direction.
Yours sincerely,
ALFONSI François, ARA-KOVACS Attila, ASIMAKOPOULOU Anna-Misel, BARRENA Pernando, CASTALDO Fabio Massimo, CHRISTOFOROU Lefteris, FOURLAS Loucas, FRAGKOS Emmanouil, GEORGIOU Giorgos, GEORGOULIS Alexis, GUILLAUME Sylvie, HAUTALA Heidi, HEIDE Hannes, KAILI Eva, KOULOGLOU Stelios, KOUNTOURA Elena, KOVATCHEV Andrey, KYMPOUROPOULOS Stelios, LIBERADZKI Bogusław, MAVRIDES Costas, PAPADAKIS Demetris , PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios, SANTOS Isabel, SCHREIJER-PIERIK Annie, SONNEBORN Martin, SPYRAKI Maria, STEFANUTA Nicolae, TOMAC Eugen, VOZEMBERG Elissavet
EAFJD
