Monday, March 13 2023 11:27

ArmInfo.The 3rd EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee called Armenia and Azerbaijan to proceed with the negotiations on a peace treaty, which must address the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with an international guarantee mechanism and active involvement of the EU. 

The third meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership  Committee (PPC) was held in Brussels on 9 March 2023, under the  co-chairmanship of Mr Arman Yeghoyan, on behalf of the National  Assembly of Armenia, and of Ms Marina Kaljurand, on behalf of the  European Parliament.

Having considered the state of play of EU-Armenia relations, the  Parliamentary Partnership Committee agreed upon the following final  statement, which reads, in particular: 

The Parliamentary Partnership Committee: 

1.Notes with satisfaction the very good relations between the EU and  Armenia and recalls the role played by the European Parliament and  the National Assembly of Armenia, on the basis of their democratic  legitimacy, in the development of these relations;

2. Deeply regrets the loss of life, immense suffering and destruction  caused by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and stresses that sustainable  peace cannot be achieved by military means and the threat of use of  force, but requires a comprehensive political settlement in  accordance with international law and based in particular on the key  principles of the Helsinki Final Act of non-use of force, territorial  integrity, and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples, as  well as on the OSCE Minsk Group's 2009 Basic Principles and elements;

3. Strongly supports the initiative of the President of the European  Council to convene and mediate meetings of the leaders of Armenia and  Azerbaijan and stresses the urgent need to proceed with the  negotiations on a peace treaty, which must address the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and in particular provide guarantees for  the rights and security of the Armenian population of  Nagorno-Karabakh and enable the return of internally displaced  persons and refugees; takes the view that an international guarantee  mechanism should be established to this end and encourages active  involvement of the EU and the EU Member States;

4. Underlines that the full respect and implementation of all  agreements reached between the parties, and above all the trilateral  statement of 9 November 2020, are necessary preconditions for  progress towards peace; condemns, in this regard, the breach by  Azerbaijan of its obligations to guarantee safe movement along the  Lachin Corridor; urges an immediate end to the blockade of the  Corridor, in line with the binding order of the International Court  of Justice of 22 February 2023;

5. Recalls the need to open all transport connections in the region,  including between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan  and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, in line with the trilateral  statement of 9 November 2020; calls on the authorities of Armenia and  Azerbaijan to agree on the modalities on this issue, which must fully  respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national  legislation/jurisdiction of the respective countries; points to the  significant potential of unblocking regional communications to boost  socio-economic development in the South Caucasus;

6. Strongly condemns the large-scale military aggression by  Azerbaijan in September 2022 against the territory of the Republic of  Armenia, as well as the military incursions into Armenian territory  since May 2021; calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately  withdraw from all parts of the territory of Armenia;

7. Stresses the need for the border commissions established by common  agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan to take forward joint work  on border delimitation and de-escalatory mechanisms as soon as  possible; welcomes EU assistance to this process;

8. Welcomes the deployment of a civilian European Union Mission in  Armenia (EUMA) to monitor the situation along the Armenian side of  the border with Azerbaijan and any conflict-related incidents and  calls on the EU to adjust its regional policy, if needed, taking into  consideration reports of EUMA; highlights the role of the mission to  contribute to increasing security in conflict-affected areas and to  building confidence, in order to support the peace process and the  normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan; calls on  Azerbaijan to fully cooperate with the EU mission and allow its  presence on its side of the border as well;

9. Emphasises the need to address as a matter of priority all  outstanding humanitarian issues; demands the immediate and  unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners of war and other  detainees still held by Azerbaijan and insists that they must be  treated in accordance with international humanitarian law; calls on  Azerbaijan to investigate reports of enforced disappearances of  Armenian prisoners of war, calls on the authorities of Armenia and  Azerbaijan to redouble efforts to clarify the fate of missing persons  from both sides and from all stages of the conflict;

10. Strongly condemns the acts of torture, mutilation and killing of  Armenian military personnel and unarmed prisoners of war by  Azerbaijani armed forces in September 2022 and the posting of videos  of these crimes on social media; insists on a full and transparent  investigation by the Azerbaijani authorities in order to bring the  perpetrators to justice; condemns, in the same way, all earlier  reports of alleged war crimes committed by any party and urges  effective investigations by the responsible authorities;

11. Suggests the creation of an independent transitional justice  mechanism to conduct investigations of war crime allegations, address  the issue of missing persons and allegations of enforced  disappearances and carry out factual assessments of events during the  armed conflict, with the aim to help build confidence and achieve  reconciliation; encourages the EU to support such efforts;

12. Deplores the destruction of both Armenian and Azerbaijani  cultural, religious and historical heritage since the beginning of  the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; is seriously concerned by reports and  declared intentions of altering the origins of Armenian heritage  sites in and around Nagorno-Karabakh after the war of 2020; stresses  the need for an independent expert mission of UNESCO to be allowed  access to Nagorno- Karabakh without preconditions;

13. Strongly encourages EU support to grassroots civil society  organisations that genuinely contribute to reconciliation, help  foster mutual understanding and people-to-people contacts between  Armenia and Azerbaijan and prepare their populations for peace;

14. Welcomes the process of normalisation of relations between  Armenia and Turkey and the progress achieved so far, including the  resumption of flights between the two countries, lifting of air-cargo  bans and agreement on opening their border to third nationals;  encourages further engagement by both sides without preconditions and  without linkage to the solution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; points  to the potential positive effects for the entire South Caucasus  region in terms of security as well as socio-economic development;  commends the sending of Armenian humanitarian aid and search and  rescue teams to Turkey after the earthquake of 6 February 2023;  stresses the recognition of the Armenian genocide as the most  effective preventive mechanism against future genocides;

15. Welcomes Armenia's commitment to the implementation of the  Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the  EU and Armenia and the progress made since its entry into force on 1  March 2021; welcomes the fact that the Armenian government recognises  CEPA as a strategic blueprint for key reforms in the country;

The final statement in full is available here: 

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/266587/Final%20Statement%20and%20Recommendations_3rd- EU-Armenia-PPC.pdf