Brussels 06.10.2020 Today upon the initiative of the Cyprus MEP Loucas Fourlas (EPP) 48 Member of the European Parliament sent a letter to the head of the EU diplomacy Josep Borrell calling him to undertake “meaningful actions” versus Azerbaijan aggression on breakaway Republic of Artsakh – Nagorno-Karabakh, and Armenia.

(Image above: illustration, European Parliament, Strasbourg).

“We write to you to express our concern for the situation in Artsakh⁄Nagorno-Karabakh and submit the following requests: As of Sunday morning, 26 October, the Artsakh population has been under attack by the Azerbaijani armed forces, in gross violation of international humanitarian law and the logic of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. The missile and aerial attacks against the indigenous population in Nagorno-Karabakh, including the capital Stepanakert, forced civilians to hide inside shelters. Schools in Nagorno-Karabakh have been bombed while there are numerous casualties across the region. We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament are appalled by this and call on the Azerbaijani army to immediately stop the aggression against the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. We call upon the EU High Representative Josep Borrell to take immediate and concrete measures on this direction. We recall and stress that the OSCE investigative mechanism for cease-fire violations which would prevent the sides from blaming each other for initiating deadly attacks, is an absolute necessity for regaining trust and a meaningful negotiation process. We also call you, High Representative Borrell, to exercise high pressure to halt any interference by Turkey, de facto destabilising yet another neighbouring region, the South Caucasus. The disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh is in urgent need of a peaceful solution. Any kind of escalation due to the involvement of third countries, such as Turkey, will rapidly worsen the situation with unpredictable consequences for the whole region.
We expect to see meaningful actions to help resolve this conflict from your side very quickly.
Yours sincerely,
The undersigned Members of the European Parliament: