European Parliament Officials: Azerbaijan Initiated Military Actions, Grossly Violating November 9 Ceasefire

The head of the European Parliament's Delegation for the South Caucasus, Marina Kaljurand, along with the rapporteurs on Armenia and Azerbaijan, Andrey Kovachev and Zeljana Zivkov, respectively, have addressed the escalation of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in a joint statement regarding the situation at the border and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The statement reads as follows:

“We are seriously concerned about the heavy fighting that took place yesterday, which followed a recent increase in border tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The military actions initiated by Azerbaijan, in response to alleged provocations, represent a gross violation of last year's November 9 ceasefire agreement and have resulted in unverified casualties, injuries, and the capture of soldiers.

We call for an immediate de-escalation of the situation and welcome the involvement of the President of the Council of Europe and the ceasefire established through Russian efforts. We reaffirm that any potential disputes regarding the border must be resolved through negotiations concerning delimitation and demarcation processes, rather than through the use of force and unilateral actions.

We condemn any attempt of 'border violations,' as witnessed on May 12, when Azerbaijani troops invaded Armenian territory. We support the call for the opening of transport and economic communications, as stipulated in the November 9 ceasefire agreement, which would greatly benefit the entire region. This includes links between Azerbaijan's western regions and Nakhchivan.

To achieve success, the parties must adhere to the provisions of the agreement and refrain from overly broad interpretations. Furthermore, we are concerned about the traffic obstacles on the roads connecting Armenian towns and villages that pass through Azerbaijani territory and believe that such behavior contradicts the logic of the agreement and complicates the lives of local citizens.

We also regret that, despite numerous calls from the international community, including the European Parliament's resolution of May 20, 2021, many Armenian detainees arrested in the context of the conflict have still not been released, and we again appeal to the Azerbaijani authorities on this matter.

We further reaffirm our call for the exchange of all minefield maps, which would allow citizens to return to former conflict areas. Once again, we emphasize the EU's commitment to supporting trust-building measures and raising all issues at the negotiating table, particularly for restoring discussions on the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the long-term resolution of the conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group.