MEP Statement on the 20th Anniversary of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Ceasefire Agreement

On May 13, Members of the European Parliament Eleni Theocharous, Frank Engel, Tatjana Zdanoka, Ewald Stadler, Inaki Irazabalbeitia, Michele Rivasi, as well as the Deputy of the Spanish Parliament Jon Inarritu issued a statement on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the ceasefire agreement of 1994 between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The MEPs noted, that the fragile peace established by the agreement not only allowed avoiding escalation of the conflict and further human losses but also opened the possibility for searching new ways for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

“Unfortunately, despite all the efforts the 20 years of cease-fire have not turned into a lasting and stable peace. Still, from time to time, we get the alarming news on recurrent incidents on the line of contact that cause new losses among young soldiers on both sides and may lead to renewed hostilities”, – the statement says.

In the statement, the MEPs recognized the strategic importance of the region of South Caucasus for the EU and the need to transform the South Caucasus into a region of sustainable peace, stability and prosperity. They furthermore reminded that the EU in its resolutions has called on the relevant authorities to refrain from use of force as well as to avoid provocative policies and rhetoric, inflammatory statements and manipulation of history.

The MEPs highly appreciated the fact that both Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia have on numerous occasions approved their commitment to resolve the conflict by exclusively peaceful means through ongoing OSCE negotiation efforts. They have repeatedly voiced their readiness to withdraw snipers from the line of contact as a confidence and security building measure.

“We would like to use this anniversary to call on Azerbaijani authorities to withdraw snipers from the line of contact and Armenian-Azerbaijani border to avoid any further escalation of conflict. It is also crucial, that Azerbaijan’s leadership commit itself to exclusively peaceful resolution of the conflict”, – the statement says.

The MEPs called the EU to engage in contributing to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs lead process of fostering peace and understanding among the parties to the conflict to make possible the peaceful resolution of the conflict so that human rights and freedoms enjoyed in Europe are within a reach of its neighborhood too.

PN member Frank Engel has been Member of the European Parliament since 2009. His is serving as Head of the Luxembourgish delegation to the European People's Party (EPP), and member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and substitute member of the Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO).

Source: Public Radio of Armenia.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Alboth.