The European Parliament, on 19 January, adopted an urgent resolution on “the humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
The European Commission expresses regret over the blockade of the Lachin corridor and the tragic humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Taking into account that the corridor is the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the outside world, it calls on Azerbaijan to respect and implement the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020 and to immediately reopen the Lachin corridor, allowing free movement and ensuring access to essential goods and services, thereby guaranteeing security in the region and securing the livelihoods of the residents.
It emphasises the need for a comprehensive peace agreement that must guarantee the rights and security of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, calls on Azerbaijan to protect the rights of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh and to refrain from its incendiary rhetoric, which calls for discriminatory treatment of Armenians and urges Armenians to leave Nagorno-Karabakh.
It calls on Azerbaijan to refrain in the future from disrupting road, energy links and communications between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
It strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s scapegoating of human rights defenders and NGOs and calls on the EU and member state representations to support their work.
It condemns the inaction of the Russian peacekeepers, considers that urgent negotiations should be held on their replacement by international peacekeepers of the OSCE operating under a UN mandate.
It calls on international organisations to be granted unhindered access to Nagorno-Karabakh to assess the situation and provide the necessary humanitarian assistance.
It calls for a fact-finding mission of the UN or the OSCE to be organised to the Lachin corridor to assess the humanitarian situation there.
It calls for the immediate resumption of negotiations without preconditions, based on the principles of the Helsinki Final Act.
It calls on the EU to become actively engaged and to ensure that the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh are no longer held hostage by Baku’s activity, Russia’s destructive role and the inaction of the Minsk Group.
It instructs its President to transmit this resolution to Armenia, Azerbaijan and international bodies.
