Member of the Armenian delegation Mary Galstyan gave a speech at the 3rd session of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee.
“Dear Colleagues,
Thank you for hosting us at the 3rd session of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee in Brussels.
I want to emphasize the importance of the partnership between the European Union and Armenia, which is developing dynamically. Despite the already broad scope of our cooperation, I hope that we can find new directions and ways to expand our relations further. The importance of deepening our cooperation is especially emphasized in the context of the challenges facing Armenia, particularly security risks, the agenda of economic recovery, and democratic reforms in the post-war situation. I will again emphasize the vital importance of your ongoing and continued support in these three areas and beyond.
Major security issues and geopolitical instability in the region, our continued and sincere efforts to achieve sustainable peace, despite frequent and painful provocations by Azerbaijan on the borders of the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, make it all the more urgent to deepen our cooperation with our European partners and, in particular, the European Parliament, to continue mobilizing actions and efforts to achieve stability and peace in the region.
The last such provocation by Azerbaijan occurred last Sunday when 3 Nagorno Karabakh policemen were killed on the false accusation that their car was carrying weapons from Armenia to Stepanakert while they were on regular police patrol. You have already been informed in detail about the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, as a result of which 120,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are deprived of their fundamental rights. This behavior of Azerbaijan in no way contributes to establishing stability in the region. Moreover, it disrupts the extremely fragile process of achieving peace between the two countries, changing the instrument of peace negotiations to threats and violence.
And this is where the continued efforts of the EU are vital both as a mediator and as a strong geopolitical actor to respond to the situation and make an objective assessment.
I want to express my gratitude for all the efforts and active involvement of the EU so far, including the adoption of the European Parliament resolution on the humanitarian consequences of the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the report adopted by the European Parliament on the implementation of the standard foreign and security policy, which condemns the aggression carried out by Azerbaijan in September 2022 Regarding the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.
The EU monitoring capacity launch in Armenia in 2022 and the EU special civilian mission launched in February 2023 are essential and unprecedented achievements for Armenia and the EU. The first mission contributed to de-escalating the situation at the border and a sharp decrease in ceasefire violations. We are hopeful that this impact will continue with the second civilian mission.
Despite enormous security and geopolitical challenges, I want to reaffirm our commitment to deepening the democratization process and reform agenda in priority areas such as human rights, the fight against corruption, judicial reforms, and economic liberalization. We consider democracy the only long-term and stable way to achieve stability and peace in the region. And the more this vision becomes dominant in the area, the sooner we realize it,” concluded Mary Galstyan.
