YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the second largest group in the European Parliament, has called on the European Union to impose sanctions on several Azerbaijani government officials.

“Given the gravity of the situation in Azerbaijan, we call on the Union’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, to launch, without delay, an initiative to impose EU-wide targeted human rights sanctions on Azerbaijani officials responsible for the violent repression of the political opposition and civil society in the country,” the S&D said.

“It is unacceptable that President Aliyev is using the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent spike in military tensions with Armenia as an excuse to wipe out what remains of the political opposition in the country”, the statement said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan