MEPs on Thursday 20 May called for the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian military and civilians captured or arrested during and after the conflict with Azerbaijan in late 2020. Such a request had already been made on 3 May by some 100 MEPs (see EUROPE 12712/22).
The resolution by The Left, Greens/EFA, S&D, Renew Europe and EPP Groups on prisoners of war following the latest conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which Parliament adopted by 607 votes to 27 with 54 abstentions, also urges the parties to fully implement the trilateral ceasefire declaration of 9 November 2020.
Parliament believes that the Azerbaijani authorities must ensure that those still in detention receive all the protections required by international human rights and humanitarian law.
A full exchange of prisoners and human remains and a final resolution of this issue would be a first confidence-building measure that the region desperately needs to see the beginning of stability, say MEPs.
Parliament also deplores the violation of the ceasefire, condemns all attacks on civilians and recalls that States have an obligation under international humanitarian law to protect civilian lives.
The Nagorno-Karabakh issue can only be resolved through a negotiated political solution, say MEPs, who therefore call on the parties to resume high-level political dialogue as soon as possible, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
See the resolution: https://bit.ly/33XgHng (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)