They denounce “ethnic cleansing” in Nagorno-Karabakh. MEPs spoke out on Thursday in favor of “targeted” sanctions against Baku, after the Azerbaijani military intervention in this region. Meeting in Strasbourg, the parliamentarians also “strongly advised Azerbaijan against embarking on a military operation against Armenia” and demanded the departure of Baku’s troops stationed in this country.
After a lightning offensive by Baku’s forces on September 19, almost the entire Armenian population fled the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, which announced its dissolution on January 1, 2024. Several European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron , have expressed in recent days their concern about a possible military offensive against Armenia from Azerbaijan which has already taken up positions in the south of the country near Jermuk. Finally, Parliament wants a “complete review of the European Union’s relations with Azerbaijan”.
Baku ready to talk to Yerevan with EU mediation
During the debate which preceded this vote, several MEPs called for going further by pleading for an immediate denunciation of the gas agreement concluded between the EU and Azerbaijan. On July 18, 2022, as the EU sought to diversify its hydrocarbon supplies to replace Russian gas and oil, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen signed a “new protocol on a strategic energy partnership” in Baku. with Azerbaijan.
At the same time, Baku considers itself ready for tripartite negotiations with Armenia and the European Union. Azerbaijan did not go to a European summit in Spain where the subject was to be discussed, but this should not be seen as a refusal of “discussions with Armenia”, according to an advisor to the Azerbaijani president.