RPA vice-chairman critical of European Parliament`s statement on  Lachin corridor blockade 

ArmInfo. The European Parliament completed discussing the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, with about 20 short speeches, Armen Ashotyan, Vice-Chairman of the  Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), wrote in a Facebook message. 

All the speakers were unanimous in condemning Azerbaijan, demanding  immediate unblocking of the Lachin corridor. 

"They spoke of democracy, Azerbaijani gas and air communication, with  accents on the West-Russia conflict as well. 

"The European Commissioner for Transport [Adina Ioana Valean] made a  speech on behalf of the European Commission, and her speech was, so  to say, about nothing. Here is a unified version compiled out of 5  drafts. The vote is scheduled for January 19, and you will understand  the content of debate from the draft," Ashotyan wrote. 

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Armenia and  Azerbaijan,

- having regard to Rules 144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and  the outside world, the Lachin corridor, has been blocked by  self-proclaimed environmentalists from Azerbaijan since 12 December  2022; whereas this has disrupted access to essential goods and  services, including food, fuel and medication, for the 120 000  Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, effectively placing them under  a blockade;

B. whereas the blockade has led to a severe humanitarian crisis,  significantly affecting the most vulnerable populations; whereas the  transfer of critically ill patients is nearly impossible, with one  death resulting from this situation; whereas hundreds of families  remain separated;

C. whereas this humanitarian crisis was further aggravated by  Azerbaijan's disruption of the natural gas supply to  Nagorno-Karabakh, which left houses, hospitals and schools without  heating;

D. whereas by sustaining the blockade of the Lachin corridor,  Azerbaijan is breaching its international obligations under the  trilateral ceasefire statement of 9 November 2020, under which  Azerbaijan must guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo  moving along the corridor in both directions;

E. whereas the impediments to the use of the Lachin corridor set back  the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan and undermine  international confidence; 1. Deplores the tragic humanitarian  consequences of the blockade of the Lachin corridor and the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict;

2. Urges Azerbaijan to respect and implement the trilateral statement  of 9 November 2020 and immediately reopen the Lachin corridor to  enable free movement and ensure access to essential goods and  services, thus guaranteeing security in the region and safeguarding  residents' livelihoods;

3. Underlines the need for a comprehensive peace agreement, which  must guarantee the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian  population; calls on Azerbaijan to protect the rights of Armenians  living in Nagorno-Karabakh and refrain from its inflammatory rhetoric  that calls for discrimination against Armenians and urgesArmenians to  leave Nagorno-Karabakh;

4. Urges Azerbaijan to refrain from undermining the functioning of  transport, energy and communication connections between Armenia and  Nagorno-Karabakh in future;

5. Strongly condemns Azerbaijan's scapegoating of human rights  defenders and CSOs and calls on EU and Member State representations  to support their work;

6. Condemns the inaction of Russian 'peacekeepers'; considers that  their replacement with OSCE international peacekeepers, under a UN  mandate, should be negotiated urgently;

7. Calls for international organisations to be granted unimpeded  access to NagornoKarabakh to assess the situation and provide the  necessary humanitarian assistance;

8. Calls for a UN or OSCE fact-finding mission to the Lachin corridor  to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground;

9. Calls for the urgent resumption, without preconditions, of  negotiations based on the principles of the Helsinki Final Act;

10. Calls for the EU to be actively involved and ensure that the  inhabitants of NagornoKarabakh are no longer held hostage by Baku's  activism, Russia's destructive role and the Minsk Group's inactivity;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to Armenia,  Azerbaijan and international institutions.

Last December, the official website of the European Parliament  published a draft resolution on the annual report on the  implementation of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security  Policy (CFSP).

The document reads, in particular: 

91. Welcomes the Union's enhanced engagement with the countries of  the Southern Caucasus, notably the swift adoption of an EU monitoring  capacity mission along Armenia's international border with Azerbaijan  in order to monitor the situation in the region, build confidence and  contribute to restoring peace and security; highlights the importance  of decreasing Russian influence in the region through increased EU  presence; calls on the Council to expand the number of deployed  experts and increase the mission capacity, and calls for stronger  presence in the region;

92. Strongly condemns the latest military aggression by Azerbaijan on  12 September 2022 on the sovereign territory of Armenia, which  constituted a breach of the ceasefire and is having serious  consequences on the peace process; is also concerned by the alleged  war crimes and inhuman treatment perpetrated by the armed forces of  Azerbaijan against Armenian prisoners of war and civilians;  reiterates that the territorial integrity of Armenia must be fully  respected and underlines the EU's readiness to be more actively  involved in settling the region's protracted conflicts; calls on the  Azerbaijani authorities, therefore, to immediately withdraw from all  parts of the territory of Armenia and to release the prisoners of war  under their control; recalls that only diplomatic means will bring a  just and lasting response to the conflict that will benefit the  populations of Armenia and Azerbaijan;

93. Is convinced that a sustainable peace between Armenia and  Azerbaijan cannot be achieved through military means but needs a  comprehensive political settlement in accordance with international  law, including the principles enshrined in the UN Charter, the 1975  Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Helsinki  Final Act, as well the OSCE Minsk Group's 2009 Basic Principles of  territorial integrity, self-determination and non-use of force;

94. Supports the initiative taken by the President of the European  Council Charles Michel to convene and mediate bilateral meetings of  the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels and encourages the  work on the ground by the EU's special representative for the South  Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia; believes that the EU can play the  role of an honest broker to prevent further escalation and achieve  sustainable peace; urges Armenia and Azerbaijan to fully engage in  the drafting of a comprehensive peace treaty; reiterates that such a  treaty has to address all the root causes of the conflict, including  the rights and security of the Armenian population living in  Nagorno-Karabakh, the return of displaced persons and refugees to  their homes under the control of the Office of the UN High  Commissioner for Refugees, inter- religious dialogue, the protection  and conservation of cultural, religious and historical heritage and  territorial integrity;

95. Calls for the full implementation of the Comprehensive and  Enhanced Partnership Agreement with Armenia and underlines the need  to continue negotiations on the Comprehensive and Enhanced  Partnership Agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan;

96. Insists that any deepening of EU relations with Azerbaijan must  remain conditional on the country making substantial progress on the  respect for human rights, the rule of law, democracy and fundamental  freedoms;