Tuesday, February 27 2024 16:07

ArmInfo.Germany would be happy for the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and the  establishment of  long-term peace and stability in the region. 

Chairwoman of the Committee on Legal Affairs of the German Bundestag  Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker stated at a press conference in Yerevan  on February 27, summing up the results of their delegation's visit to  Armenia.

"Our country is ready to assist Armenia both in the implementation of  the peace agenda and the agenda of democratic reforms," the MP said.

At the same time, she said that the Bundestag delegation arrived in  Armenia as part of a regional tour. "We will travel from Armenia to  Georgia, and then to Azerbaijan," Winkelmeier-Becker said.  When  asked what made Azerbaijan, after a fairly long break, agree to a  meeting with Armenia in Berlin, the parliamentarian stated that maybe  she could answer this question if she came from Azerbaijan and was  aware of Baku's position. "But, unfortunately, I don't know the  position of the Azerbaijani side, so it's difficult for me to judge  what has changed. I can only present the position of my country.  Germany's position is as follows, it is ready to establish a  framework, that is, to provide a platform for negotiations on the  peace agenda between Baku and Yerevan," said the MP.

When asked by the journalist to assess the crimes committed by  Azerbaijan during the aggression against both Artsakh and Armenia,  the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in the occupied  territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, the MP admitted that the listed acts  cause concern, especially if we consider  the duration of this  conflict.

"The facts presented by you cannot be justified. This is alien to us,  since I came from a country in which the forced displacement of any  ethnic group is unthinkable. We are puzzled by the fact that the  parties do not strive for peace that will serve the well-being of the  inhabitants of this region. I believe that we should be able to act  as an honest mediator at this stage of the peace process,"  Winkelmeier-Becker said.  When asked why the EU does not sanction  Azerbaijan due to its aggression in Artsakh, as is done, for example,  in the case of Ukraine, the MP noted that it is difficult for her to  answer this question, since it rather relates to the foreign policy  agenda of the German government.  .  However, she added that in the  case of Ukraine the situation is different, since there are many  people in Germany who suffered from this war, and they are trying to  help these people establish  a legal framework to protect their  interests

At the same time, she noted that Germany is represented in Armenia as  part of the EU civil mission to the Republic of Armenia (EUMA). "The  purpose of deploying EUMA is to prevent an escalation of the  situation on the borders of Armenia, monitoring and collecting  information. In addition, we must not forget that from the point of  view of international law, Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan.  This is incomparable with what is happening around Ukraine," she  said.

In response to the remark that Azerbaijan committed aggression not  only against Artsakh, but also against Armenia, and just last week,  the Prime Minister of Armenia in an interview with a French  authoritative magazine stated that Azerbaijan is preparing to attack  Armenia in order to get what it wants from Yerevan, a parliamentarian  from the Bundestag assured that they would raise this issue at  meetings in Baku.  However, she added that she would not like  to  make hasty conclusions until she got acquainted with the complete  situation.

Winkelmeier-Becker also informed that at their meetings in the  Ministry of Justice of Armenia the issue of the borders of Armenia  was touched upon. "The Ministry of Justice of Armenia also informed  us about the complex process being developed to delimitate the  Armenian-Azerbaijani border. A process that requires time and serious  efforts, involving, among other things, maps of the Soviet Union.  Let's hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will be able to carry out  delimitation, which will contribute to the establishment of peace in  the region and respect for the internationally recognized borders of  Armenia," the MP added.  When asked by the journalist to give a  direct answer why the West does not sanction Azerbaijan,  Winkelmeier-Becker once again repeated that this issue is not within  her competence and is a matter of the foreign policy agenda. "I would  also like to draw attention to the fact that sanctions often have  limited results. I believe that at this stage sanctions can have a  negative impact on the peace process," the parliamentarian expressed  her conviction.

To clarify whether Armenia's accession to the Rome Statute will help  in the issue of bringing Azerbaijan to justice for war crimes  committed in Artsakh, and in the process of releasing captives and  prisoners of war held in Baku, Winkelmeier-Becker noted that there is  an International Criminal Court that can consider similar kind of  issues. In this vein, she drew attention to the fact that the ICC is  now considering cases related to war crimes in Ukraine. According to  the Bundestag member, crimes committed in any other corner of the  world, in conflict situations, can be considered by the same analogy.

Winkelmeier-Becker also noted that international law also contains a  number of tools on the issue of prisoners of war and captives, which  can also be used.