Baku, Azerbaijan, July 6
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva – Trend:
Rachida Dati, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from France, Ivo Vajgl, MEP from Slovenia, and Iveta Grigule, MEP from Latvia, in their joint statement expressed support for Azerbaijan regarding the recent Armenian provocation on the contact line between the two countries’ troops.
“After the military provocation from Armenia in the village of Alkhanly in the district of Fuzuli, in Azerbaijan, two civilians have been killed,” the MEPs said in the statement published in their special press release obtained by Trend.
“We would like to convey our sincere condolences to their families and to express our full support to the Azerbaijani people,” the MEPs noted.
The lives are being broken and the inhumanity needs to stop, said the statement.
“In the resolution of conflicts, only the respect of international law should prevail,” the MEPs said. “Violence will never be a solution.”
While the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have asked both parties to stop their military actions, the MEPs need to ask the OSCE for a clearer commitment in the protection of civilians and in the respect of Azerbaijan territorial integrity, according to the statement.
“As European political personalities, we should also ask Armenia to stop as soon as possible the civilian hostage-taking, as it is illegal and a symbol of cowardice, for political claims that are both unjustified and illegitimate,” the statement said.
On July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces, using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled the Alkhanly village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli district.
As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Allahverdiyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Salminaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.