On Wednesday 1 December, the Director for Russia, Eastern partnership, Central Asia and OSCE of the European External Action Service, Luc Devigne, pleaded before the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee for the resumption of the political process between Armenia and Azerbaijan in order to have a lasting peace between these neighbouring countries, also calling for an end to the negative rhetoric.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet on 15 December, in the margins of the Eastern Partnership summit, at the invitation of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel (see EUROPE 12837/19).
While some MEPs felt that the EU was not doing enough to resolve the conflict, Mr Devigne explained that the EU was doing what it could. “I cannot accept that the EU is accused of doing nothing or not doing enough”, he said. For the EEAS representative, the EU’s position is to support the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - France, the United States and Russia - “the only conventional format for a conflict resolution and peace treaty”.
“What more can be done in the absence of (EU) armed forces?” he asked, adding that of the Minsk Group co-chairs, only Russia has a military presence there. “When the guns are talking, it is difficult for diplomats to prevent or stop them”, Devigne acknowledged.
And while the ceasefire agreement is a good thing, it cannot solve everything, the diplomat added. He said it was “not rational to think that there will be peace in any form” without resolving the issues of mine clearance and prisoner exchange. “We have to provide the demining maps and exchange the prisoners, but neither side agrees”, he said. Mr Devigne highlighted that the EU had provided emergency humanitarian funds and support for mine clearance. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)