The Committee of International and Inter-Parliamentary Relations of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan dismisses categorically the ludicrous and biased ideas that contradict international law, also, are unethical and target the sovereignty of territorial integrity of our country, and are contained in the annual reports of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs ‘On the Implementation of the Common Security and Defence Committee’ and ‘On the Implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy’, both passed on 29 November 2023.

The fact that the reports contain a great many obsolete terms not even employed by Armenia anymore gives sufficient grounds to maintain that the European Parliament is not aware of the realities of the region. We are reminding our colleagues in the European Parliament that it is utterly illogical to refer to such bygone notions as those of ‘Nagorno Karabakh conflict’ and ‘Lachin Corridor’.

The urge of the MEPs to locate to Azerbaijan the European Union mission in Armenia is unacceptable as an attempt to export to the South Caucasus a dangerous geopolitical rivalry would be, and witnesses that they have become instrumental in certain circles’ hostile activities levelled at Azerbaijan.

The authors of those reports know full well that it was Armenia that failed to honour the obligations pursuant to the Trilateral Statement of 10 November 2020, in particular, regarding complete withdrawal  of the armed forces of Armenia from Garabagh. However, the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs did in no manner condemn the destructive acts of Armenia for a long time.

It is rather revealing that the above-mentioned documents refer to Azerbaijan's restoration of her sovereignty over the internationally recognised territory of Garabagh by means of the anti-terrorist measures as military aggression. Equally revealing are the calls made in the same documents for the imposition of sanctions against Azerbaijan based on the allegations of violation of international norms by Azerbaijan . All this clearly indicates that the approach taken by the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs is based on double standards and is dictated by religious and ethnic preferences, as well as its being stained with corruption. Azerbaijan is not seeking anyone's permission to conduct an operation to end the existence of ‘grey zones’ in its own sovereign territories.

Whilst expressing concerns about the Armenian inhabitants of the Garabagh Region of Azerbaijan, claiming that their rights had been violated, the Committee once again proved its policy of Azerbaijanophobia and Islamophobia, quite simply, by its silence about the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Armenia and the occupied Azerbaijani territories, the Khojaly Genocide and Armenia's disregard for the UN Security Council resolutions.

We suggest that the MEPs who shamelessly call for preservation of the allegedly Armenian heritage in Garabagh and deem themselves the ‘guardians of democracy’ to pay attention to the action of Armenia aimed at destroying and falsifying the heritage in the Azerbaijani territories during the period of occupation – the action classified as crimes against humanity in international conventions. Let them demand that a UNESCO mission be despatched to that country to investigate the culturicide of the heritage of the Azerbaijani nation that was committed in Armenia over many years.

With their irresponsible actions, the MEPs create obstacles to the peace process based on the new realities that have emerged in the region as a result of Azerbaijan's historic victory and fully in line with international law.

The Committee of International and Inter-Parliamentary Relations of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan wishes to state that the scraps of paper put together by the European Parliament Committee of Foreign Affairs lack any legal force and weight, and demand that the activities directed against Azerbaijan be stopped.