BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 2. By making unfounded claims, certain members of the European Parliament support Armenia's revanchist forces and jeopardize the region's fragile overall security in the South Caucasus. Tural Ganjaliyev, a member of parliament from Azerbaijan and the director of the Baku Network expert platform, responded to the biased stance of the head of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the South Caucasus and the standing EP rapporteurs on Azerbaijan and Armenia, Trend reports.
"It is regrettable that some European Parliamentarians make baseless accusations against Azerbaijan while remaining silent about the occupation and devastation of Azerbaijan's territories over the past three decades. These same MEPs have been silent for the past three years about the presence of 10,000 illegal Armenian armed troops on Azerbaijani soil and about the terrible humanitarian crisis we faced as a result of the contamination of our formerly occupied territories by land mines. The dishonest and deceitful approach Armenia has taken to the process of post-conflict normalization, he claimed, has gone unnoticed by these MEPs." he said.
Ganjaliyev pointed out that the allegations on the so-called “blockade” of the part of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and “dire humanitarian situation” are utterly groundless and false, and are nothing other than reckless attempts to manipulate the international community.
"Unfortunately, some MEP’s buy it without searching for the true information. Contrary to the allegations raised by MEP’s, the Lachin border-check point established by Azerbaijan on international border with Armenia is a legal and legitimate act of Azerbaijan aimed at ensuring security of its borders. This is fully in line with international law and established international practice. Abuse of humanitarian activities, including arbitrary denial of humanitarian assistance on the basis of political considerations constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and thus, must be rejected. In this regard, Azerbaijan resolutely condemns Armenia’s consistent efforts to abuse the issue of humanitarian assistance for its malign purposes and instrumentalize relevant international actors, most notably the ICRC," he said.
The MP said it is the Armenia that incited the provocation against Azerbaijan after the establishment of the Lachin border checkpoint.
"The armed provocation occurred as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) convoy was conducting a pre-planned operation to accompany a group of Armenian residents of the Karabakh region who were traveling to Armenia for medical reasons. As a result, the armed attack on June 15, 2023, put the ICRC officials and anyone traveling through the checkpoint at danger in addition to the Azerbaijani border service personnel. Armenia, nevertheless, has not stopped its provocations and has rashly tried to use ICRC-hired cars for smuggling commodities to resupply its unlawfully stationed armed forces in Azerbaijani territory. This is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a serious blow on humanitarian mandate and international reputation of the ICRC," he added.
Ganjaliyev noted that Azerbaijan has offered to the ICRC to use Aghdam-Khankendi route for its humanitarian activities and expressed its readiness to provide all necessary conditions to that end.
"At discussions with Armenia that were sponsored by international actors, such as Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, Azerbaijan underlined the accessibility of the Aghdam-Khankendi route for the delivery of commodities to local populations. Following the discussion, the EU Council President urged the usage of the Aghdam-Khankendi road as a crucial step in ensuring that the needs of the Karabakh population are satisfied. Armenia orchestrates ostensible public protests against the use of alternative routes for the delivery of goods and services through the illegal regime in the Azerbaijani region of Karabakh, and recklessly uses the locals for its nefarious political agenda of racial and ethnic hatred. The Aghdam-Khankendi road is currently closed with concrete blocks by Armenia’s subordinate illegal regime not to allow cargo and vehicles, including those of the ICRC, to pass. Concerning the latest decision by the International Court of Justice, it unanimously rejected Armenia‘s request on July 6, 2023, essentially confirming that Armenia’s claims for illegality of the border-check point of Azerbaijan have no ground whatsoever," said the MP.
He urged MEPs to stop ignoring the aforementioned facts, stop acting in a way that threatens the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, and stop meddling in that country's internal affairs.
"By making unfounded claims, they support Armenia's revanchist troops and jeopardize the overall precarious situation in the area. Instead, they should put more of an emphasis on helping to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on respect for each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolable boundaries", said Ganjaliyev.