2024-04-30 02:44:38
In the Parliament of the United Kingdom, a discussion was held under the title “International support for the refugees of Nagorno-Karabakh“.
Sir John Whittingdale from the Conservative Party stated that it is extremely valuable to be in Armenia now.
“I have been to Armenia five times in the last few years, although this is a small number compared to the visits made by Baroness Cox, indeed, she is known as the Angel of Artsakh because of her many visits. However, in the past I was able to visit Nagorno-Karabakh to talk with the then administration. I did this because I think one of the most important things for us as MPs is to hear both sides of the argument and see things for ourselves. I was very disappointed that the consequence of my going to Nagorno Karabakh was that I ended up on the black list of Azerbaijan. Indeed, I think that I am still on the black list of Azerbaijan, just for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh and conducting these negotiations,” he said.
Whittingdale said that during his visit to Armenia, he had extremely exciting meetings with refugees from Nagorno Karabakh.
“Regardless of rights and wrongs, hearing first-hand accounts of their suffering was a very emotional experience, especially some episodes about how, without any notice, they were dragged from their homes and forced to walk to neighboring Armenia, which lasted several days. Not all of the travelers reached Armenia, some died on the way. I pay tribute to the people we met in Jermuk, particularly the governor and the mayor, for how Jermuk opened its doors and welcomed refugees. They continue to support them. However, 100,000 people have moved from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, and that has put enormous pressure on them, so I absolutely support our calls to support them.
I will talk a little about the conflict raging between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the status of Nagorno Karabakh for many years. It is the case that Nagorno Karabakh is located within the borders of Azerbaijan, but it was inhabited by Armenians. It is also true that a number of Azerbaijanis were displaced before. However, I do not want to get into arguments about sovereignty and the history behind it. We have a humanitarian need to support refugees.
We also had the honor to hear from His Holiness the Catholicos of All Armenians about the impact of the conflict on the priests and churches of Nagorno Karabakh, which is also a cause for serious concern. The status of Nagorno-Karabakh has been the cause of recurring conflicts and tensions between the two neighboring countries for decades, although now there seems to be a chance for a settlement of the conflict.
We had an extremely great honor to meet with Prime Minister Pashinyan, who expressed to us his desire to achieve peace and his plan to achieve peace. One of the most remarkable aspects of the plan currently being developed by the Prime Minister of Armenia is that it does not contain territorial ambitions to restore control over Nagorno Karabakh. It has been the subject of some criticism, as we heard from members of the opposition in Yerevan, but it is a realistic acknowledgment of what happened and an attempt to reach a peaceful settlement now.
There are still issues to be resolved, particularly the issue of the corridor connecting Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan. They are both Azeri territories, but the corridor will pass through Armenia, which understandably believes that any corridor through its soil should be controlled by Armenia, although they are open to negotiating free access to ensure that it can be easily travel between Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan.
However, despite the clear possibility of a peaceful settlement, which we have heard many times from Armenians that they want to do, in the last few hours the Prime Minister has issued a statement saying that Armenia may be at war by the end of the year because Armenians they believe that Azerbaijan continues to have territorial ambitions towards Armenia. So, it is a very fragile situation.
As head of the UK delegation, I met members of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe when I was in Vienna a few weeks ago. They are absolutely adamant that they have no aggressive intention towards Armenia, and this is propaganda carried out by Armenia. However, even while we were in Armenia, four Armenian soldiers were killed during the ongoing conflict around the border. We were also taken to see an area that is undoubtedly Armenia, but is still occupied by Azerbaijan.
There are some serious issues that need to be addressed, but given the expressions of willingness to reach a settlement that are being made by both sides, now is the chance to do anything we can to facilitate that, because there are broader strategic issues at stake.
Armenia is a former Soviet country. It has a Russian military base and is believed to be closely allied with Russia. However, in part there is frustration among people in Armenia with Russia because they have not received any support from Russia when they have been attacked, there is real anger and a desire to break away and move towards the west. That was something else we heard while we were there. Indeed, Prime Minister Pashinyan has been quite brave, already clarifying Armenia’s readiness to withdraw from Russia’s Collective Security Treaty Organization and its former satellites. His ambition to bring Armenia closer to the West is in some ways no different from the decisions made in Ukraine 10 years ago, when he also decided that his destiny was not with Russia, but with the West and the EU. As we have supported Ukraine in its ambitions, we should support Armenia in it,” the deputy emphasized.