Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

The European Parliament issued a resolution on March 10 that contained defamation and explicit anti-Azerbaijani propaganda.

The resolution is titled "On the destruction of Nagorno-cultural Karabakh's heritage". It's also worth mentioning that it's not about Armenian graffiti, but rather a specific "Armenian heritage" that was purportedly destroyed during the 44-day war.

Reportedly, 679 deputies took part in the voting, of which 635 were in favor of the resolution, two were against and 42 abstained.

The document's wording refers to the destruction of "Armenian cultural heritage" as though an investigation had already been conducted and the facts established. However, the UNESCO monitoring team has yet to visit the region, and the European Parliament, by voting in favor of Armenia's proposal, accuses Azerbaijan.

The dossier also makes allegations against Azerbaijan's governmental policy, which is supposedly based on "Armenophobia". When we consider that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had visited Paris the day before and met with French President Emmanuel Macron, the scenario becomes even more bizarre.

EU Summit

At the same time, on the same day, a two-day informal European Union summit began in Versailles, organized at the initiative of the French president in the EU. The summit agenda focused on three major issues: lowering Russian gas imports by two-thirds by the end of the year, bolstering European defense, and developing a new economic development model.

The first point is especially notable when discussing Azerbaijan, given how many calls and visits to Baku were made following the escalation of the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

Speaking about alternatives to Russian gas, which Europe is now looking for, European Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevicius mentioned that there are gas import destinations such as the United States or Qatar, from which LNG cargoes will be transported, as well as Azerbaijan, Algeria, and Norway, from which gas will be delivered to Europe via pipelines.

So, on the one hand, the EU holds an informal conference to address the critical issue of Europe's energy security, in which Azerbaijan plays a part, and on the other, the European Parliament votes an anti-Azerbaijani resolution.

Azerbaijani heritage destruction

Azerbaijani political analyst MP Rasim Musabayov told local media that the resolution plainly shows that European MPs are ready to accept any move orchestrated by Armenian lobbyists with their eyes closed.

"However, these same Armenian lobbyists must recognize that these resolutions are meaningless and will not alter anything. Every core of the resolution contains a deceptive message," he stated.

The analyst noted that there is nothing left to destroy in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories as everything was destroyed under the Armenian occupation, especially Azerbaijani cultural and historical heritage.

“Azerbaijan has invited UNESCO many times to come and look at what the occupiers have done, but instead absurd, completely unfounded decisions are made,” he said.

He added that the purpose is simple: to show Azerbaijan the power of the Armenian lobby.

"Azerbaijan will not be intimidated by such flimsy, illegitimate resolutions. European lawmakers have once again proved their dishonesty and irresponsibility, and such actions are unlikely to increase Azerbaijan's respect for so-called European principles," he added.

International law crisis

The Russian political scientist, doctor of political sciences, “Eastern Vector” consulting center director Tatiana Poloskova told local media that the adoption of this resolution is largely the result of the efforts of the Armenian diaspora and lobby.

“The resolution was prepared for more than a day. During this period, the Armenian diaspora had the chance to engage its contacts in the European Parliament and work with these people,” she said.

She noted that deputies who passed such a resolution hardly thought about the reaction of Azerbaijan.

"As for the resolution as an act, I would say it is not deadly. Both the European Union and the United Nations pass strong resolutions, but not all of them are implemented or responded to. There is now an international law problem, including diplomatic and international mechanisms that apply the accepted norms and standards," she stated.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan's Consul General to the Western United States, Nasimi Aghayev, stated on his official Twitter page that Armenia razed 10,000 square kilometers of Azerbaijan, desecrated and destroyed at least 65 Azerbaijani mosques, many of which were turned into pigsties, obliterated 900 cemeteries, and so on.

“Yet European Parliament targets Azerbaijan. It is nothing but an attempt to whitewash Armenian’s crimes!” he wrote.

It is also worth noting that the European Parliament has announced, through Estonian MP Marina Kaljurand, that Europe does not accept the outcomes of the 44-day conflict because "peace must be won by dialogue, not force".

As a result, it is unclear how European firms and financial entities "not acknowledging" Azerbaijan's triumph may assist in the reconstruction of freed regions. On March 11, a team of specialists from the United Nations, the European Union, and the World Bank came to Baku to assess the requirements for restoration of Azerbaijan's freed areas using the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Assessment Routes for Peace approach.

It is apparent that this is not the first time that disputes between the European Parliament and other EU institutions have arisen.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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