The Chairman of the Standing Committee on European Integration of the RA National Assembly, Arman Yeghoyan, wrote on his Facebook page:
“On March 9, the 3rd session of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee took place in Brussels. As a result of the meeting, the Parliamentary Partnership Committee adopted a final statement by which, among others:
– note with satisfaction the good relations between the EU and Armenia and remind the role of the European Parliament and the National Assembly of Armenia in this matter, based on their democratic legitimacy;
– emphasizes that stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be achieved by military means or by the threat of force;
– demands a comprehensive political settlement of the conflict by international law and based, in particular, on non-use of force, territorial integrity, and equal rights and self-determination of peoples – the Helsinki Final Act’s fundamental principles as the 2009 OSCE Minsk Group. On basic principles and elements;
– emphasizes that the full implementation of all agreements reached between the parties, and above all, the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, are necessary preconditions for progress towards peace; in this regard, condemns Azerbaijan’s violation of its obligations to guarantee safe movement through the Lachin Corridor; urges an immediate end to the blockade of the corridor by the binding decision of the International Court of Justice of February 22, 2023;
– reminds of the need to open all transport connections in the region and calls on the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan to agree on the formats on this issue, which should fully respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national legislation of the parties;
– strongly condemns the large-scale military aggression carried out by Azerbaijan against the territory of the Republic of Armenia in September 2022, as well as the military incursions into the territory of Armenia since May 2021; calls on the authorities of Azerbaijan to withdraw immediately from all parts of the region of Armenia;
– welcomes the placement of the European Union civilian mission in Armenia. Calls on Azerbaijan to fully cooperate with the EU mission and allow its presence on its side of the border as well;
– emphasizes the need to solve all existing humanitarian problems in order of priority; demands the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners of war and other detained persons;
– calls on Azerbaijan to investigate all existing reports on the forced disappearance of Armenian prisoners of war;
– strongly condemns the torture and killing of Armenian soldiers and unarmed prisoners of war by the Azerbaijani armed forces in September 2022; insists on the need for a complete and transparent investigation by the Azerbaijani authorities to bring the culprit to justice;
– proposes to create an independent transitional justice mechanism that will investigate allegations of war crimes, address the issue of missing persons, investigate allegations of enforced disappearance, as well as conduct a factual assessment of the events that took place during the armed conflict;
– is seriously concerned about reports of distorting the genealogy of Armenian cultural heritage monuments in and around Nagorno-Karabakh after the 2020 war.
Emphasizes the need to ensure the entry of UNESCO’s independent expert mission to Nagorno-Karabakh without preconditions;
– welcomes Armenia’s commitment to the implementation of the RA-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), as well as the progress made since its entry into force on March 1, 2021;
– stresses that the RA-EU Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement is based on the joint commitment of the EU and Armenia to democracy, the rule of law, good governance, and human rights and fundamental freedoms, positively evaluates the crucial reforms implemented over the past few years, which established Armenia as a fully democratic country and a regional leader in good governance; is concerned about the increasing polarization of the political field and calls on all political forces of Armenia to show restraint;
– acknowledges Armenia’s exemplary implementation of visa facilitation agreements and calls on the EU Council to initiate a visa liberalization dialogue with Armenia to strengthen people-to-people contacts further;
– highlights the significant investment boost provided by the EU Economic and Investment Program, which will help Armenia build a dynamic and resilient economy; emphasizes its focus on critical areas, including strategically essential connectivity projects and support for the most vulnerable regions; welcomes Armenia’s progress in the implementation of priority initiatives within the framework of the program.”
