European Parliament Demands Release of 23 Armenian Hostages, Calls for Suspension of Any Security or Financial Assistance to Azerbaijan

BRUSSELS — The European Parliament has reiterated its demand for the withdrawal of Azerbaijan’s troops from the entirety of Armenia’s sovereign territory and the release of the 23 remaining Armenian hostages.

In the report on Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) adopted by 378 votes in favor, 188 against and 105 abstentions, the European Parliament notes the ongoing attempts by Armenia and Azerbaijan to normalize their relations, encourages both parties to sign a comprehensive and fair peace agreement without delay, calls on Azerbaijan to demonstrate genuine efforts to this end, reaffirms its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both Armenia and Azerbaijan and strongly supports the normalization of their relations based on the principles of the mutual recognition of territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders, in accordance with the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, reiterates its demand for the withdrawal of Azerbaijan’s troops from the entirety of Armenia’s sovereign territory and the release of the 23 remaining Armenian hostages.

The European Parliament welcomes the new momentum in bilateral relations between the EU and Armenia, which is strongly supported by the authorities in Yerevan, calls on the Commission and the Council to actively support Armenia’s desire for increased cooperation with the EU, expresses full support for the newly launched work on the EU-Armenia Partnership Agenda, establishing more ambitious joint priorities for cooperation across all dimensions.

The Parliament expresses its strong support for the activities of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) and underscores the important role it plays, calls on EUMA to continue to closely monitor the evolving security situation on the ground, provide transparent reporting to Parliament and actively contribute to conflict resolution efforts, calls for the EU and its Member States to strengthen EUMA’s mandate, increase its size and extend its duration, calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to agree to have such a civilian mission on their side of the border as well.

The European Parliament welcomes Armenia’s decision to suspend its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and cease all payments to its budget in 2024, and to seek a more reliable security architecture

MEPs support Armenia’s official request for the Russian Federation to withdraw its Federal Security Service border guards from its international airport and the Armenia-Iran border, welcome the regular meetings under the EU-Armenia Political and Security Dialogue format and the EU-Armenia Partnership Council and commend the decision to adopt the assistance measures under the EPF in support Armenian armed forces on 13 June and 22 July 2024 respectively.

In the report on Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), adopted by 399 votes in favor, 198 against and 71 abstentions, the MEPs condemn Azerbaijan for its continued efforts to undermine the possibility of regional peace and its continued threats against Armenia, call for the EU and its Member States to suspend any security, technical or financial assistance provided to Azerbaijan, including through various EU instruments, that might contribute to the increase of Azerbaijan’s offensive capabilities or endanger the security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia.

The European Parliament recalls that a year has passed since Azerbaijan’s seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh, which resulted in the forced displacement of more than 140 000 Armenians from the region, condemns the military support and the supply of arms provided by non-EU countries to Azerbaijan, points out that Azerbaijan has been guilty of serious breaches of human rights in Nagorno-Karabakh, condemns the destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in the region by Azerbaijan, calls on the Council to consider imposing targeted and individual sanctions against those responsible for ceasefire violations and human rights abuses in Nagorno-Karabakh.