“Of course, Azerbaijan shelled the territories under the sovereignty of Armenia, using drones and artillery. The two countries accuse each other of violating the ceasefire, but the fact is that Azerbaijan bombed and occupied a part of the sovereign territory of Armenia. We cannot do more than what we are doing. If you can, suggest what we can do,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in response to the question of Marina Kaljurand, the head of the delegation on relations with the South Caucasus in the European Parliament.
During the question-and-answer session with Josep Borrell, Marina Kaljurand stated that two weeks after the recent meeting in Brussels, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military attack against Armenia and continued, “A few days ago, a video about the shooting of Armenian prisoners of war was spread on Azerbaijani social networks. What concrete steps should you and your office take? How can the EU’s new energy cooperation with Azerbaijan be reconciled with the EU’s role in ensuring stability in the region?”
On this occasion, Josep Borrell said: “Azerbaijan sells gas to Europe. Thanks to this contract, the volume of gas supply has doubled. It made it possible to open a gas corridor. But as far as the conflict is concerned, no political concessions will be made. This energy agreement should not harm processes related to human rights and democracy.”
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Josep Borrell stated that the Azerbaijani armed forces continue to occupy the territories of Armenia, and according to him, the Azerbaijani armed forces are so close to the Armenian settlements. They are so close that there is a risk of a new conflict. He emphasized once again that Azerbaijan should withdraw from the territory of Armenia, and the energy cooperation memorandum signed with Azerbaijan has nothing to do with this issue. Some members of the European Parliament drew parallels between Russia’s crimes against Ukraine and Azerbaijan’s crimes against Armenia and called for the EU to condemn Azerbaijan in the same way as Russia. One of the delegates asked: “Will you condemn Azerbaijan in the same way as Russia?”
Applause followed this question. Josep Borrell assured that he would condemn any war crime.
Emmanuel Maurel, a member of the European Parliament, also said indignantly: “We know who is the aggressor and who is the victim. We have seen how Azerbaijanis shoot Armenian soldiers. Why does Europe not take concrete actions? Why do we use double standards? We criticize Russia, but why are we not taking appropriate actions against Azerbaijan?”
Josep Borrell responded, “Why do you always think that I am less judgmental? I condemn those actions as much as you do. We call for an investigation into all those actions that violate human rights. Of course, we are dealing with scary videos. Of course, there should be an investigation. Azerbaijan said that it will carry out the investigation. It is clear that there was an attack on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, the Azerbaijani armed forces occupied a part of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. We call for the withdrawal of their armed forces from those territories.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
