European Parliament condemns destabilizing role of Turkey in the  South Caucasus

ArmInfo. The European Parliament adopted the resolution on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) - annual report 2020 and  resolution of 20 January 2021 on the implementation of the Common  Security and Defence Policy (CSDF).

Thus, in the reports the European Parliament welcomes the cessation  of hostilities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh; underlines with  concern the military involvement of third countries in the conflict  and notably the destabilising role and interference of Turkey; calls  for an international investigation into the alleged presence of  foreign fighters and use of cluster munitions and phosphorous bombs;  calls on the European Union and international bodies to ensure that  there is no impunity for war crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh and for the  use of prohibited weapons in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; insists  on the need to allow humanitarian aid to get through, to proceed  without delay with the exchange of prisoners and casualties, and on  the need to preserve the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh.  Besides, the European Parliament strongly condemns the destabilising  role of Turkey which further undermines the fragile stability in the  whole of the South Caucasus region; calls on Turkey to refrain from  any interference in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including offering  military support to Azerbaijan, and to desist from its destabilising  actions and actively promote peace; condemns, furthermore, the  transfer of foreign terrorist fighters by Turkey from Syria and  elsewhere to Nagorno- Karabakh, as confirmed by international actors,  including the OSCE Minsk Group Co- Chair countries; regrets its  willingness to destabilise the OSCE Minsk Group as it pursues  ambitions of playing a more decisive role in the conflict.

It is noted that the European Parliament takes good note of the  agreement on a complete ceasefire in and around Nagorno-Karabakh  signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on 9 November 2020; hopes  that this agreement will save the lives of both civilians and  military personnel and open brighter perspectives for a peaceful  settlement of this deadly conflict; regrets that changes to the  status quo were made through military force, rather than peaceful  negotiations; strongly condemns the killing of civilians and  destruction of civilian facilities and places of worship, condemns  the reported use of cluster munitions in the conflict; urges both  Armenia and Azerbaijan to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions,  which comprehensively bans their use, without further delay; stresses  that a lasting settlement still remains to be found and that the  process of achieving peace and determining the region's future legal  status should be led by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and founded on the  group's Basic Principles ; highlights the urgent need to ensure that  humanitarian assistance can reach those in need, that the security of  the Armenian population and its cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh  is ensured, and that internally displaced persons and refugees are  allowed to return to their former places of residence; calls for all  allegations of war crimes to be duly investigated and those  responsible to be brought to justice; calls on the EU to be more  meaningfully involved in the settlement of the conflict and not to  leave the fate of the region in the hands of other powers;

The EP takes the view that the EU needs to urgently define a better  geopolitical and overall strategy for its short-, mid- and long-term  relations with Turkey, particularly in the light of continued  democratic backsliding and the growing assertiveness of Turkey's  foreign policy, which is contributing to the escalation of tensions  and having a destabilising impact that threatens regional peace and  stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and South  Caucasus, and its role in conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and  Nagorno-Karabakh.