Roundtable on geopolitical developments in South Caucasus held at  Belgian Senate

ArmInfo.A roundtable discussion on the topic  "The Geopolitical Developments in the South  Caucasus: Focus on Armenia and Artsakh" was held at the Belgian Senate.

According to the press service of the ARF Central Bureau, the event,  organized by Senator Mark Demesmaeker  in cooperation with the  European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD),  attracted a wide audience, including Belgian parliamentarians,  diplomats, journalists and representatives of civil society.

The roundtable featured four keynote speakers: Els Van Hoof: Chair of  the Foreign Affairs Committee, Belgian Federal Parliament; Paul  Meerts: International negotiation analyst and co-founder of  Clingendael Institute; Gegham Stepanyan: Ombudsman of Nagorno  Karabakh; Benyamin Poghosyan: Senior Research Fellow at the Applied  Policy Research Institute of Armenia The primary objective of the  conference was a comprehensive analysis of geopolitical developments  in the South Caucasus region since September 2020, particularly in  light of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Speakers presented views from a variety of perspectives, including  international law, human rights and the international community's  response. Particular attention was paid to mediation efforts,  including the role of the European Union.

Opening the discussions, Mark Demesmaeker noted the importance of  maintaining vigilance and priority attention to the processes in the  South Caucasus.

" Having visited Nagorno-Karabakh and the border region with  Azerbaijan, I've seen the conflict's impact firsthand. Azerbaijan's  aggression and the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, is  utterly unacceptable. We need to pressure the EU and the  international community to end impunity. Democracies must unite to  safeguard human rights and prevent atrocities. It's vital not to  overlook the South Caucasus amidst the focus on the Middle East and  Ukraine. We cannot ignore the suffering and instability in this  region," the senator said.

In turn, Els Van Hoof stated:  "The recent demolition of Artsakh's  parliament symbolizes Azerbaijan's ongoing cultural cleansing.  We  cannot remain silent on this matter. The EU must reevaluate its  relations with Azerbaijan and utilize its available policy tools to  halt the violations of the fundamental rights of the Karabakh  Armenians. Additionally, the option to impose sanctions should be  considered on the European level."

Benyamin Poghosyan focused on the peace talks between Armenia and  Azerbaijan, stating: "There was a fundamentally flawed logic that the  appeasement policy towards Azerbaijan and acceptance of the  destruction of the self-proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh Republic would  pave the way for Armenia - Azerbaijan peace. Instead, it only  bolstered Azerbaijan to be more aggressive towards Armenia, and now  we face a real threat of new escalation by Azerbaijan with the  strategic goal to open the land corridor with Nakhijevan and Turkey  by occupying parts of Armenia."