A letter sent by a group of MEPs, including German ECR MEP Lars Patrick Berg, to EU Council President Charles Michel and EU EEAS HRVP Josep Borrell urges “to use their powers on behalf of the European Union to take concrete steps and ensure the safety of the native Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.”
🇪🇺MEPs sent letter to @EUCouncil @eucopresident Charles Michel and @eu_eeas's HRVP @JosepBorrellF to use their powers on behalf of the European Union to take concrete steps and ensure the safety of the native Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. pic.twitter.com/4qtVnT7rTB
— EAFJD #SanctionAzerbaijan (@eafjd) December 15, 2022
Armenpress.am quotes from the letter, sent by MEPs Peter van Dalen (EPP), François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP), Lars Patrick Berg (ECR), François Alfonsi (Greens/EFA), Fabio Massimo Castaldo (NI) and Andrey Kovatchev (EPP).
The MEPs write:
“Since the morning hours of 12 December 2022 until now, Azerbaijanis have once again blocked the only route connecting the Republic of Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh, thus, leaving 120.000 native Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh under de facto blockade and depriving of their right to free movement. This also means that ambulances and food supply cannot reach Nagorno Karabakh.
If the situation continues it will lead to an imminent humanitarian catastrophe with disastrous consequences. It is unacceptable that under the disguise of environmental activism the Azerbaijani side violates the trilateral ceasefire statement of November 9, 2020, namely its obligation to guarantee the secure movement of citizens, vehicles, and cargo in both directions through this route known as Lachin Corridor.
Since the signature of the ceasefire statement in November 2020, the Azerbaijani side has been using various methods of creating extremely hard and hopeless living conditions for the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh, including military provocations, psychological intimidation and cutting off the gas in freezing winter temperatures.
Dear President, dear High Representative, we herewith call on you to use your powers on behalf of the European Union to take concrete steps and ensure the safety of the native Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh. We cannot allow this policy of intimidation and aggression from Azerbaijan to continue”
Picture: Gandzasar monastery (Copyright: By Emma YSU – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62586443)