MEP calls for strong EU support to Armenia

Europe must take all possible measures to support Armenia and prevent a new possible Azeri aggression, French Member of the European Parliament François-Xavier Bellamy has said.

“I can say what Europe should do and what we expect it to do,” the MEP told Armenpress when asked to comment on the Armenian-Azeri peace talks, given Baku’s demands, as well as what the EU could do to contribute to regional peace.

“I think we have a duty to guarantee the security of the developments, and this security is jeopardized only because of one actor, this must be clearly acknowledged. That actor is Aliyev, who decided to cut the diplomatic process regarding the status of Artsakh. In 2020, by launching a military aggression, he blockaded Artsakh, subjecting the local population to torture. Afterwards he carried out ethnic cleansing before the eyes of the world, and regrettably the EU remained very silent. Unfortunately, today Azerbaijan is once again threatening Armenia, which we’ve seen recently after listening to the speech of the Azerbaijani ambassador at the Belgian parliament. Azerbaijan is using that horrendous rhetoric and trying to justify its encroachment against Armenian territories with the narrative of the so-called Western Azerbaijan. This turning point must be cut. Actually, there is one threat, that is Azerbaijan, and Armenia is the victim. And Europe must stand by Armenia with all possible means to prevent an Azerbaijani aggression.”

Asked to comment on EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas’ recent trip to Azerbaijan, a country with a poor human rights record and violations of human rights particularly in Nagorno-Karabakh, the MEP said he has personally spoken to Kallas about the issue.

“There are two things in this visit that are deeply shocking, and a few days ago I had the chance to personally speak about this with Kaja Kallas. Diplomacy is about talking with people with whom we have serious differences. And when I say Europe must assume that restraining role, this means speaking with Azerbaijan, to honestly tell them what stance the EU has. But the biggest problem about this visit was that Mrs. Kallas only visited Baku, whereas I thought she would also visit Yerevan, but that visit was postponed. I think it is crucial for Mrs. Kallas to meet the Armenian authorities as soon as possible, and I hope the Armenian government will be likewise ready to meet. I think it is fundamentally important for us to show whose side we are at. We hosted Nikol Pashinyan in the European Parliament, who came and spoke before Members of the European Parliament, it took us much effort. For our part we chose whom to host, and this certainly had strong symbolic meaning. We are showing whose side we are at today, we are standing by the people who are defending fundamental rights, and not by the dictator who has decided to violate the rights of even his own people. The second thing that shocked me were the messages that were made during the trip. When an attempt is made to present Azerbaijan as Europe’s partner, even just in energy cooperation, a serious contradiction is seen. And I told the High Representative with this wording, ‘this is a strong incompatibility.’ We have explained that Russia is a dictatorship that is violating human rights in its country and unjustly attacking its neighbors, and that’s why we decided to sanction it and stop energy carrier supplies from Moscow. But how can we explain that we haven’t done the same against Azerbaijan, which has been violating the fundamental rights of its own people in the worse way, violating in our countries too, because the truth is Azerbaijan is threatening political detractors, and sometimes it is even plotting their murder in Europe. This is a direct threat to the sovereignty of our states. In addition, I think Azerbaijan was the first in the recent period to start war against its neighboring population with the purpose of redrawing borders and advancing its interests. Therefore, there’s no reason not to use the same standard that is used against Moscow against Baku. And I think double standards threaten the confidence for European diplomacy not just in this region, but globally.”

He said the EU ought to a have a more decisive stance in its negotiations with Azerbaijan.

The MEP highlighted the urgent humanitarian issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh POWs held in Azerbaijan who “are now undergoing a sham trial.” He described the sham trial as the manifestation of Azeri president Ilham Aliyev’s vendetta. “A revenge aimed at leaders who are only guilty of trying to peacefully defend their own people.”

The MEP said the European Parliament will continue to be actively engaged to seek a resolution to the issue.

Earlier this year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the unconditional release of Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan.

“I think about all the leaders who are now held in Baku, who I assume are ill-treated,” the MEP said, adding that the POWs are in life-threatening condition. “This is urgent. I have met with the families of some of them, for example, I think about Ruben Vardanyan. Achieving their release is an absolute urgency,” the MEP said.

He said the condition of all refugee families of Nagorno-Karabakh must also be discussed in the European Parliament. “We must maintain the work that would allow them to hope that some day they will return to their villages, cities, their lands. Even if it seems far or difficult, we must preserve that work because this is about the land and home of these people which have been captured,” the MEP said.

The MEP said he has called at the EP to create a mechanism that would enable to prepare for a return. 

During his visit to Yerevan, the MEP said he met with forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh. During one such meeting, refugee children told him “we will return to Shushi”. “And I think these words must remain actual. These children must live with hope that some day they will return to their lands, their ancestral lands. And I think it is our duty, we must create conditions that would allow to continue working for that goal,” he said.