Azerbaijani MPs visited Armenia
Meetings of bureaus and commissions of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly were held in Armenia. They were attended by deputies of the European Parliament, as well as Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. In parallel, protests were held in Yerevan amid the arrival of Azerbaijani deputies. They were held by participants of the 2020 44-day war in Karabakh and relatives of those who died during the hostilities and opposition activists.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani MPs Tahir Mirkishili and Sultan Mammadov at the beginning of the Euronest meetings thanked Armenia for the warm welcome and said that they had brought with them positive signals from Baku.
The Euronest Assembly is a parliamentary platform established in 2003 to promote the political and economic integration of the European Union and the countries of the Eastern Partnership. The EU Eastern Partnership project includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly are hosted based on the principle of rotation. Now it is Armenia’s turn.
Prior to that, Euronest met in Yerevan in 2015, when the Azerbaijani delegation refused to participate in the meetings.
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During the meetings, Azerbaijani deputies made statements that caused additional tension in the Armenian society. In particular, Sultan Mammadov claimed that all Armenian prisoners of war were returned to their homeland:
“Now there is a discussion, within the framework of the international law, about those who got arrested after the war had ended”.
The Armenian side categorically disagrees with this. Both the authorities and human rights activists argue that, according to international conventions, there is no distinction between those taken prisoner during the war and after it. In addition, they emphasize that the document on the cessation of hostilities signed in November 2020 provides for the return of all prisoners without exception.
Mammadov also repeated the thesis of the President of Azerbaijan that the Karabakh conflict was settled. Neither the authorities nor the society in Armenia agree with this either.
At the same time, the Azerbaijani MP spoke about the importance of the Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue. He stressed that in order to establish peace between the two countries, cooperation within the framework of the Eastern Partnership is also necessary. And Azerbaijan, according to him, is ready to start discussing issues on the demarcation of borders with Armenia:
“Azerbaijan has unfrozen all relations between our countries, which will bring peace and security, prosperity and economic development”.
Azerbaijani deputies.
Another Azerbaijani MP, Tair Mirkishili, spoke about respect for the territorial integrity of neighboring countries and the rights of peoples. He stated that he visited his home in Nagorno-Karabakh last year:
“If you saw what happened there, what condition my house was in, you would understand how sad it all is. This is Hiroshima in the Caucasus. You should have seen what your soldiers did to my country”.
According to Mirkishili, steps need to be taken to avoid conflicts in the future, as they result in loss of life:
“We do not have racist aspirations, we do not want the use of force in the future. All this is already in the past, now we need to talk about the future. A peace agreement, for example, would be a good chance to build that relationship”.
He announced that he sees opportunities for Armenian-Azerbaijani cooperation both within the framework of the European Union and the 3 + 3 format created at the initiative of Turkey at the end of last year.
Protests began even before the arrival of Azerbaijani deputies. On February 21, a group of war veterans blocked the road near the Zvartnots airport. They demanded not to let the Azerbaijani delegation into the country:
“When hundreds of thousands of Armenians have the opportunity to return to their homes in Baku, then we will discuss the possibility of their [Azerbaijanis] participation in the events in Yerevan”.
“We have gathered here because we are not going to be friends with the Turks [Azerbaijanis]. The soldiers stand in combat positions to prevent them from advancing, but here they are allowed to come and drink coffee”, said one of the participants in the action.
The police managed to reopen the road after several unsuccessful attempts.
Then a protest was organized in the center of Yerevan, near the Armenia Marriott Hotel, where Azerbaijani deputies stayed. The protesters said that instead of ensuring the safety of Azerbaijanis, the authorities should have refused to hold Euronest in Yerevan.
Protest in front of the building where the meeting was held
On February 22, dozens of protesters gathered in front of the sports and concert complex where the meetings were being held. Former member of the Armenian parliament Naira Zohrabyan also joined the activists.
She stated that the Azerbaijani deputies are lying about “not having any Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan”. According to Naira Zohrabyan, she herself was sent footage of how prisoners are being tortured in an Azerbaijani prison:
“There are still dozens of prisoners of war in the prisons of Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijanis claim that there are no more prisoners of war left in prisons, they are criminals”.
According to the former MP, the Armenian side should have included the following issues on the agenda of Euronest:
- return of prisoners of war
- crimes committed by Azerbaijan during the 44-day war,
- protection of the Armenian cultural heritage in the territories controlled by Azerbaijan.
It would be difficult, Zohrabyan believes, since the agenda had already been approved. However, in her opinion, it was necessary to try, but there were no such efforts from the Armenian side.
Another protest took place late in the evening, after the end of the work of the parliamentary assembly, once again near the hotel where the Azerbaijani deputies stayed. The police tried to disperse the participants of the action, organized by the youth wing of the Dashnaktsutyun party. More than a dozen people were detained.
The head of the Armenian delegation to Euronest, deputy from the ruling Civil Contract faction Maria Karapetyan, assured journalists that all the problems that concern society regarding Armenian-Azerbaijani relations are also important for the authorities.
Maria Karapetyan
She listed issues that are considered paramount for the ruling party. First of all, according to her, regional communications should be unblocked:
“The second important issue is the demarcation and delimitation of the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. We believe that the armed forces of Azerbaijan should withdraw from the territory of the Republic of Armenia, after which the ice will break on this issue. As for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it has not been settled yet”.
Among other priorities, Maria Karapetyan also mentioned the return of prisoners and the protection of cultural monuments that remained in these territories and came under the control of Azerbaijan.