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Member of the European Parliament from Germany Tomasz Froelich has said that stability in the South Caucasus is in the interest of the EU.
The MEP delivered remarks at the European Parliament plenary session during debates of the motion for a resolution on “Unlawful detention and sham trials of Armenian hostages, including high-ranking political representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh, by Azerbaijan.”
“During the Azeri attack both the EU and Russia abandoned the Armenian people,” he said, referring to the 2023 Azeri offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh where a Russian peacekeeping force was stationed. “Hundred thousand Armenians were forced to flee, and some of them are now held hostage,” the MEP said.
He said that today the world is witnessing the coordinated destruction of the first Christian nation’s cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Why are we hearing about this so little? Stability in the South Caucasus is in the interest of the EU. We need peace talks, and we need proper treatment of Armenian captives, Armenian people, and Armenian cultural heritage,” the German MEP said.
The resolution, which will be put up to vote on March 13, calls for the unconditional release and safe return of all the prisoners of war, hostages and other detained individuals unlawfully detained in Azerbaijan, strongly condemns the shams trials brought against them in violations of due process, and calls for a ban on entry to the EU institutions for Azerbaijani officials responsible for unlawful detentions and human rights violations, among others.