The European Parliament on Wednesday, overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for closer ties between the European Union and Armenia, as well as supporting Armenia’s candidacy for membership in the bloc, “should Armenia be interested.” The resolution was adopted by a vote of 504 in favor, four against and 32 abstentions.
“Should Armenia be interested in applying for candidate status and continuing on its path of sustained reforms consolidating its democracy, this could set the stage for a transformative phase in EU-Armenia relations,’’ the resolution by the members of the EU’s legislative body reads.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, in a recent interview with CNNTurk, said that Armenia is “actively discussing” membership in the EU.
“Taking into account all the challenges that we have had to face in the last three or four years, new opportunities are being actively discussed in Armenia,” Mirzoyan said. “I will not reveal a secret if I say that the idea of joining the EU is one of them.”
“The people of Armenia have European aspirations, and as I said, we are going through a process and we will see what the end result of the process will be, which at the moment no one can be sure or predict,” added Mirzoyan.
The resolution emphasizes that EU-Armenia relations are based on such common values as democracy, rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“The Republic of Armenia is ready to be as close to the European Union as the EU considers possible,” the resolution cites Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s address to the European Parliament on October 17.
The resolution also refers to Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh in September, as a result of which more than 100,000 Artsakh Armenian were forcibly displaced from their homeland in an ethnic cleansing campaign.
“On 19 September 2023, after a nine month illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor, disregarding its commitments included in the November 2020 ceasefire agreement and International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, Azerbaijan launched an offensive on the remaining parts of the Nagorno-Karabakh not already under its control; whereas more than 100,000 Armenians had to flee the territory, resulting in Nagorno-Karabakh being almost entirely deprived of its Armenian population, who had been living there for centuries,’’ the resolution said, adding “this may amount to ethnic cleansing.”
The resolution also points out that there continue to be Armenian captives being held in Azerbaijan, “including the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh; some being interviewed and submitted to public curiosity contrary to the 1929 Geneva Conventions.”
The resolution also “calls on Azerbaijan to genuinely engage in a comprehensive and transparent dialogue with the Karabakh Armenians to ensure respect for their rights and guarantee their security, including their right to return to and live in their homes in dignity and safety under international presence, to access their land and property rights, to maintain their distinct identity and fully enjoy their civic, cultural, social and religious rights; calls on Azerbaijan to release and commit to broad amnesty for all the inhabitants of Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia who continue to be in Azerbaijani custody; calls for the full, immediate and effective implementation of all the ICJ orders in the case on the Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.”
The European Parliament also reiterated “its condemnation of the Azerbaijani military incursions into the internationally recognized territory of Armenia and ongoing occupation of parts of it; reiterates its demand for the withdrawal of Azerbaijan’s troops from the entirety of the sovereign territory of Armenia,”
The resolution rejected and expressed “its grave concern regarding the irredentist and inflammatory statements made by the Azerbaijani President and other Azerbaijani officials threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia, including those in connection with demanding the exterritorial corridor linking Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan; warns Azerbaijan against any potential military adventurism against Armenia proper; highlights that Azerbaijan’s connectivity issues with its exclave of Nakhchivan should be resolved with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia.”
The European Parliament also took note of the ongoing destruction of cultural heritage sites in Artsakh, expressing “serious concern about the failure to safeguard the cultural, religious and historical heritage of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, in violation of the ICJ Order of 7 December 2021.”
The resolution condemned “all cases of the destruction, vandalism and desecration of all sites recalling the centuries-long Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh; calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to preserve, protect and promote the rich and diverse heritage of the region; urges UNESCO to take immediate action to preserve and protect Armenian cultural heritage at risk in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
The measure also “calls for the cooperation between Armenia and the EU to be reinforced, concerning the monitoring of the systematic destruction of Armenian cultural heritage (churches, monasteries, cemeteries, monuments, palaces, etc.) by Azerbaijan, most notably through the involvement of the EU Satellite Centre.”
The resolution condemned the European Council and the European Commission for congratulating President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on his reelection “without mentioning the absence of democracy in Azerbaijan and misleadingly qualifying Azerbaijan as a reliable partner.”
The measure affirmed that congratulating Aliyev and other similar statements “do not reflect the position of the European Union and should never have been made in the light of the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan.”
European leaders were urged to foster renewed partnership agreements with Baku on the condition that Azerbaijan demonstrates “its genuine readiness to respect the rights and security concerns of the Karabakh Armenians and has contributed to substantial progress towards a comprehensive and sustainable peace agreement with Armenia.”