Ангел Джамбазки (ECR). – Г-н Председател, нашествието в Арцах на азерските войски беше нещо, което трябваше да се очаква. За съжаление, нито в Европейската комисия, нито в Европейския парламент слушаха. Това по съществото си е едно военно престъпление, това по съществото си е повторение на събитията от 1913–1915 г., извършени от Османската империя. Това за целия арменски народ и арменската общност се нарича геноцид. Днес сме свидетели на нещо подобно, на етническо прочистване. Азерските войски извършват етническо прочистване в една чисто арменска исторически област. И това се знае от всеки един. Само че, когато ви предупреждавахме за тези неща, тук колеги си играеха на големи дипломати и си играеха на това да купуват някакви газ, нефт и така нататък от азерския диктатор, който сега откриха, че е диктатор. Това също е доста срамно и доста позорно, защото това беше ясно още в момента, в който се видя как действат азерските войски срещу народа на Арцах, срещу арменците там. По тази причина гласувах в подкрепа на тази резолюция и смятам, че всеки един трябва да осъди това незаконно нахлуване.
Mick Wallace (The Left). – Mr President, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is a humanitarian disaster that we just watched unfold. For over nine months, Azerbaijan blockaded the corridor connecting the region with mainland Armenia. Over 100000 Karabakh Armenians were cut off from basic goods and services, gas and electricity in a clear effort to ethnically cleanse them from the area. The international community abandoned them – the US, the EU, Russia, everyone. Why? Because of a vested interest in not falling out with Azerbaijan. Israel and Azerbaijan trade weapons and oil. The US partners with them against Iran. President von der Leyen was in Baku in July last year, showing the world that some authoritarian regimes make great business partners.
Since Russia cemented an alliance with Azerbaijan two days before the invasion of Ukraine, they have next to nothing to offer in support of their traditional ally, Armenia. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh are victims of geopolitical tensions connected to the war in Ukraine. It’s all the more reason why we should try and bring this war to an end and stop further destabilising the region.
Clare Daly (The Left). – Mr President, two weeks ago, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive into Nagorno-Karabakh, where most of the people are Armenian. Reports of detention, torture, attacks, 100000 people, two-thirds of the population have now fled in the space of a week. Caravans of desperate people filling the roads, trying to get out. Ghost cities with abandoned pets left to roam the streets. And last week, the Commission announced that they’d support those who ‘decided’ to flee. 100 000 people don’t ‘decide’ to flee overnight at the drop of a hat. It’s not a road trip. It’s ethnic cleansing. And why do we refuse to call it that? Politics as usual. Because Baku spent USD2.9billion on caviar diplomacy to buy influence in Brussels in recent years, von der Leyen jetting off to sign a gas deal. Azerbaijan is our most reliable energy supplier in the game against Russia. The products of our arms industry sold to Türkiye end up in the hands of the Azerbaijani military. We might be playing the peacemaker now, but I don’t think the people of Armenia believe us.
Jiří Pospíšil (PPE). – Pane předsedající, já jsem podpořil to usnesení. Chování Ázerbájdžánu je naprosto skandálním porušením mezinárodního práva. Útok na Náhorní Karabach. Je třeba zvažovat, jak pomoci Arménii, která bohužel je dnes opuštěná a ta pomoc je minimální, to si přiznejme. Stejně tak je třeba říci, že je třeba odsoudit pozici Ruska, které vytvářelo dojem, že se snaží v daném regionu udržovat mír a zachovat tak určité příměří, byť jaksi v napjaté situaci a v zásadě tyto „ mírové síly“ Ruska neudělaly nic proti té agresi Ázerbájdžánu do Náhorního Karabachu. Smutná situace podpory usnesení, ale bude to chtít ze strany EU nějakou akci a pomoc, a to i humanitární, zbylým Arménům, pokud nějací ještě zbyli v Náhorním Karabachu.
Tatjana Ždanoka (NI). – Mr President, I have supported via roll-call vote some statements of this resolution, in particular the following one: ‘The Ϸվ calls on the Commission to quickly reconsider the strategic partnership with Azerbaijan in the field of energy in the light of Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia in September2022 and its unjustified use of force against and forced displacement of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh in September2023. Developing such a strategic partnership is incompatible with the objectives of EU foreign policy.’
But I could not vote for this resolution as a whole since it ‘commends Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for his commitment to peace.’ I consider this man a traitor and the main culprit in the tragedy of Nagorno-Karabakh.