BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 25. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, responsible for the Caucasus region within the Italian Council of Ministers and coordinator of the National Directorate of the ruling Italian party "Brothers of Italy", Edmondo Cirielli, sharply criticized the European Parliament's recently adopted resolution against Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
According to the MP, he was surprised by the resolution against Azerbaijan, to which his political party rightfully remains neutral.
"The parliament is sovereign, but that doesn’t mean that government representatives cannot express their opinions; we are democratic countries," Cirielli also said.
"First of all, the resolution is full of legal and historical falsifications. Armenia has illegally occupied not only Karabakh but also adjacent territories for 30 years. However, under the pretext of protecting Armenians living in this region, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, more than 750,000 Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their lands as a result of the war initiated by Armenia," he emphasized.
Cirielli noted that Armenia returned four Azerbaijani villages, which it had occupied for decades.
"There are no disputed territories because Armenia itself has declared this; there is only the question raised by Azerbaijanis regarding certain provisions of the Armenian Constitution that are interpreted as revanchism. The resolution adopted by the European Parliament certainly does not contribute to the rapid signing of a peace treaty," he added.
Moreover, he was surprised with the resolution's criticism of energy dependence on Azerbaijani gas supplies via Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TAP) to Italy.
"European partners have been urging us for years to double these gas volumes to avoid dependence on Russian gas. Even the accusation of purchasing Russian gas from Azerbaijan on the international level is unfounded. Over the past two years of war, there has been silence regarding the fourfold increase in export and trade relations between Russia and Armenia due to sanctions that hinder relations between Europe and Russia.
It is also a fact that the European Union should be interested in stabilizing the Caucasus from a neutral and equitable position, fostering relations between the two countries rather than inflaming conflicts," the deputy minister added.
To note, the resolution was adopted by 453 votes in favor, 31 against, with 89 abstentions on October 24.
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