Logos Press, Moldova
April 21 2026
Azerbaijan protested to Belgium and the Netherlands over resolutions on Armenia
Azerbaijan’s relations with Belgium and the Netherlands have found themselves in a zone of high turbulence. Official Baku accused Brussels and Amsterdam of interfering in internal affairs after European parliamentarians adopted resolutions on the release of detained persons whom the Azerbaijani side considers war criminals, as well as on the continuation of the EU observation mission in Armenia.
21 April 2026 Svetlana Rudenko
The resolutions were adopted on April 16, and on April 20, the Belgian and Dutch ambassadors to Azerbaijan, Julien de Frépon and Marian de Jong, were separately summoned to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. Both of them were protested. The documents adopted by the Belgian and Dutch parliaments are regarded by the Azerbaijani side as “another irresponsible attempts to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as well as the ongoing peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia”,” 1news.az writes.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called on the Belgian and Dutch sides “to take effective measures to prevent damage to bilateral relations by anti-Azerbaijani groups in their parliaments”.
Reaction of Milli Majlis
Milli Majlis has also spoken out on the issue, AzerTag reports. The parliament’s statement said the documents “distort the history and consequences of the conflict that existed between Azerbaijan and Armenia.”
“Presenting persons, whose commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity was proven in a transparent and open legal process, as ‘prisoners of war’ and demanding their release is first of all an attack on the norms of international law, human rights and the rule of law, which are referred to in the mentioned documents,” the Azerbaijani MPs’ statement reads.
Milli Majlis demanded from the parliaments of Belgium and the Netherlands “to put an end to the campaign of hatred against Azerbaijan and steps that strike a blow to the efforts to strengthen peace in the region”.
The resolution was adopted “at a critical moment”
The resolutions concerning the situation in the South Caucasus were adopted by the Belgian House of Representatives and the Dutch House of Representatives almost simultaneously. The parliamentarians demanded that Azerbaijan immediately release the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and others detained since the events of 2023. They also expressed “deep concern” about the preservation of Armenian monuments in Karabakh. The Dutch document mentions the possibility of revising some aspects of the energy and economic partnership with Baku if “human rights and international law are not respected”.
According to Belgian MP Michel de Magda, the new resolution was adopted “at a crucial moment for Armenia.” The country will host two major European summits in the coming weeks, and parliamentary elections are approaching.
Institutionalization of Peace
The scandal erupted amid progress in relations between Baku and Yerevan. In early 2026, at a summit in Washington, the parties reached an agreement in principle on 90% of the text of the peace treaty. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev were even honored with the Human Brotherhood Award.
There were no comments from Armenian officials on the resolutions, however, according to Armenpress, during the presentation of the election program of the ruling Civil Contract party, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that business ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be established in the near future, which will be one of the most important means and tools for institutionalizing peace between the two countries.
https://logos-pres.md/en/news/azerbaijan-protested-to-belgium-and-the-netherlands-over-resolutions-on-armenia/
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