Ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan in Brussels, 43 members of the European Parliament sent a letter to President of the European Council Charles Michel, who mediated the meeting and Josep Borrell, the EU’s representative for foreign affairs, alerting them about Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh.

The letter was an initiative of European Parliament members François-Xavier Bellamy and Loucas Fourlas, reported the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy.

In the letter, the European lawmakers express their concerns about Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing against the native Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh/ Artsakh. They urge the EU leadership to use all available leverage to pressure Azerbaijan to stop its aggressive policy in Artsakh, immediately withdraw its military forces back to their initial positions and stop any action that could endanger the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The letter refers in particular to the provocations unleashed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh in the recent weeks, such as the incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into the Armenian village of Parukh, to difficult situation caused in the village of Khramort, as well as to the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh following the cut of gas supplies by Azerbaijan. The European lawmakers concluded their letter by stating that the EU cannot allow ethnic cleansing in its neighborhood.

“This initiative of the Members of the European Parliament is a strong signal to EU executive leaders, as it provides a clear assessment of the policy pursued by Azerbaijan, qualifying it as a policy of ethnic cleansing. We must continue to be consistent for the EU to put pressure on Azerbaijan to end its anti-Armenian policy of forcing the native Armenian population out of Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh,” said EAFJD President Kaspar Karampetian.

Read letter below:

Subject: Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh

Dear President of the European Council,
Dear High Representative,

The developments in Nagorno Karabakh in the past weeks are extremely worrying. On 24 March the Azerbaijani forces took control of the Armenian-populated Parukh village in the Askeran region of Nagorno Karabakh as a result of which all the Armenian residents had to flee. Because of the Azerbaijani provocations, the entire Armenian population of the neighboring village of Khramort also had to be evacuated.   

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Greek MFA as well as the US State department criticized the advancement of the Azerbaijani troops and urged them to withdraw to their previous positions. Despite this, the situation remains tense. On 25 March violating the ceasefire, the Azerbaijani forces used firearms and combat drones, including the Bayraktar-TB2 which led to tragic casualties.

It is unacceptable that in severe winter temperatures the entire Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh was deprived of gas, causing a humanitarian crisis because of the damage of the gas pipeline to Nagorno Karabakh, whereas the gas pipeline passes through a territory under the control of the Azerbaijani authorities. Threatening the Armenian population of the settlements on the contact line using loudspeakers and their native Armenian language cannot be tolerated.  All these factors combined with the destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno Karabakh as reflected in the EP resolution adopted on 10 March create serious concerns about the danger of ethnic cleansing of the native Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh.

We herewith urge the External Action Service and the Council to use all the leverage at EU’s disposal and put pressure on Azerbaijan to immediately withdraw its forces to their previous positions and stop any action that might endanger the safety and the well-being of the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh. The EU cannot allow an ethnic cleansing in its neighborhood.

Sincerely,

Loucas FOURLAS – EPP
François-Xavier BELLAMY – EPP
François ALFONSI – Greens/EFA
Attila ARA-KOVÁCS – S&D
Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU – EPP
Pernando BARRENA ARZA – The LEFT
Lars Patrick BERG – ECR
Fabio Massimo CASTALDO – NI
Lefteris CHRISTOFOROU – EPP
Emmanouil FRAGKOS – ECR
Gianna  GANCIA – ID
Alexis GEORGOULIS – The LEFT
Klemen GROŠELJ – Renew
Ladislav ILČIĆ – ECR
Evin Incir – S&D
Eva KAILI – S&D
Assita KANKO – ECR
Joachim KUHS – ID
Stelios   KYMPOUROPOULOS – EPP
Georgios KYRTSOS – EPP
Gilles LEBRETON – ID
Miriam LEXMANN – EPP
Nathalie LOISEAU – Renew
Costas MAVRIDES – S&D
Cláudia MONTEIRO DE AGUIAR – EPP
Janina OCHOJSKA – EPP
Demetris PAPADAKIS – S&D
Peter POLLÁK – EPP
Carles PUIGDEMONT I CASAMAJÓ – NI
Diana RIBA I GINER – Greens/EFA
Bert-Jan RUISSEN – ECR
Annie SCHREIJER-PIERIK – EPP
Jordi SOLÉ – Greens/EFA
Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ – EPP
Martin SONNEBORN – NI
Maria SPYRAKI – EPP
Ivan ŠTEFANEC – EPP
Romana TOMC – EPP
Peter Van DALEN – EPP
Loránt VINCZE – EPP
Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI – EPP
Charlie WEIMERS – ECR
Theodoros ZAGORAKIS – EPP