"The European Parliament does not respect its own decisions." Analysis from Baku
European Parliament resolutions
The Azerbaijani Atlas think tank sees contradictions between a recently adopted resolution of the European Parliament against Azerbaijan and one adopted a short time ago. While in one resolution the European Parliament stands for the territorial integrity of states, in another it “supports the separatists.” “Two resolutions of the European Parliament contradict each other,” their report says.
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On January 18, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Azerbaijan for “aggression against Armenia” and “blocking” the Lachin road. Azerbaijan does not agree with this. The next day, the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani parliament) issued a statement condemning the European Parliament for the resolution. The statements reflected in the document do not correspond to reality, Azerbaijani parliamentarians believe.
Approximately the same opinion is shared by the expert community of Azerbaijan.
Document inconsistencies
“On the initiative of a group of deputies, the European Parliament adopted a document against Azerbaijan. In this document, which defends the positions of the Armenian separatists, Azerbaijan is required to open the Lachin road.
The resolution notes the need to replace the Russian peacekeeping contingent in the region with OSCE peacekeepers and criticizes the activities of the RMK. Is there an OSCE peacekeeping force?,” the experts of the Atlas analytical center ask.
According to them, there is another contradiction in the document:
“Azerbaijan was urged ‘not to disrupt the transport, energy and communication ties’ between the Karabakh Armenians and Armenia.
This point is contrary to principles adopted in Europe itself. Because the transport routes mentioned in the resolution of the European Parliament were drawn in violation of the territorial integrity and laws of Azerbaijan. This would be like some department of France importing gas and electricity without the permission of Paris.”
“The European Parliament does not respect its own decisions”
“It is interesting that the European Parliament does not respect its own decisions. Approximately four years ago, in December 2018, a resolution was adopted on the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union. This document emphasizes the need to resolve frozen conflicts in the territories of partner countries in accordance with the norms and principles of international law.
In addition, this resolution calls for increased support for people who were forced to leave their homes as a result of conflicts, to prevent the intervention of third parties in order to destabilize the situation in the territories of partner countries. In other words, this resolution actually supports the resolution of the Karabakh issue within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
But none of the paragraphs of the new resolution contains anything about the fact that the Armenians living in Karabakh must obey Azerbaijani laws and must not allow provocations against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” the experts maintain.
What to do?
The Atlas think tank stated that Azerbaijani diplomats should bring the attention of European MPs to the inconsistencies between the two resolutions:
“One of them emphasizes the importance of resolving the conflict within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, while the other expresses support for separatism. Let them explain how the same organization can adopt two documents that clearly contradict each other?
A few years ago, the European Parliament said “no” to the Catalans who wanted to become independent and supported the territorial integrity of Spain, just as it supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. But when it comes to Azerbaijan they support the Armenian separatists, who are closely associated with Russia, which is under their own harsh sanctions. Azerbaijani diplomats should demand an explanation of all this from those who adopted the document against our country.”
