On Wednesday 5 July (457 votes in favor, 124 against and 66 abstentions), the European Parliament adopted a resolution entitled “Recommendation of the European Parliament of 5 July 2017 to the Council on the seventy-second session of the General Assembly Of the United Nations, “in which paragraph (a) of the Peace and Security item refers to the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh as follows:
“Continue to advocate full respect for the sovereignty, internationally recognized borders and the territorial integrity of the countries of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, in particular Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, Violations of international law committed in those regions; Support and re-launch diplomatic efforts to achieve a peaceful and lasting settlement of these ongoing and long-lasting conflicts and the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and to enforce human rights on the ground. Human rights, territorial integrity, the non-use of force and the equal rights of peoples and their right to self-determination; Urging the international community to fully implement the policy of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of the Crimea; To actively strengthen the pressure on Russia as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to resolve the conflict in Ukraine in accordance with the Minsk accords and the problem of the occupation of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Ossetia from South ; Seek a political balance that rejects all the aspirations of exclusive spheres of influence; “
MEPs explicitly recognize the right to self-determination of the “Nagorno-Karabakh region” and if they are committed to “respect for the territorial integrity of the countries of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus”, they insist Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine “, three Eastern Partnership states that have signed an association agreement with Brussels. But they do not explicitly mention Azerbaijan and Armenia, as Nagorno-Karabakh. Since the question of Artsakh (Karabakh in Armenian) concerns in law, the principle of self-determination of the Armenians in this region, mentioning only “Nagorno Karabakh” shows at the same time That this Republic of Artsakh is a party to the conflict, that Armenia is not, as stipulated in the 4 resolutions of the UN Security Council and that Azerbaijan does not see its territorial integrity specially mentioned. At this stage, it is a step forward for the rights of Armenians in Arsatkh, presumably because Azerbaijan is multiplying human rights violations, aggression against Armenians and acts of intimidation against Members of the European Parliament. But this vote is also due to the fact that Armenia is about to sign an association agreement with Brussels in November 2017, if all goes well. And as Moscow and Brussels seek to overcome their differences, Armenia has in this perspective a card to play.
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Ara © armenews.com