European Forum

First Euronest meeting ends in disarray

It seems that the Azerbaijani proposed to include the principle of territorial sovereignty because of the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region, which they claim is still a legal part of Azerbaijan. The assembly approved the inclusion with a two-thirds majority. The Armenians however, who fought on the side of Nagorno-Karabakh for its independence in the 90s and maintain good relations with its de facto rulers, reacted by proposing to include “and right of nations to self-determination” in the same sentence. When their proposal did not meet the required majority, they threatened to veto the whole final statement. After high-level negotiations failed at the last minute, they made good on their threat. The row in the Euronest Assembly between the two Caucasian countries comes just days after an Azerbaijani drone was shot down by Armenian forces over the break-away region of Nagorno Karabakh. Tensions have been rising in the on the Caucasus over the past weeks.

Euronest is a part of the Eastern Partnership Program of the European Union, in which 60 Member of the European Parliament sit together with 10 parliamentarians each from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, making for a total of 120 deputies. The platform is aimed at improving economic, political, and social ties with the Eastern partnership countries. Currently, Belarus is suspended from Euronest because of reported widespread fraud during its last election and the ensuing violent crackdown on the opposition. The procedural rules of Euronest see for automatic suspension in such cases until fair elections are held.

The next meeting of the Euronest Assembly will be held in Baku. The head of the Azerbaijani delegation Elkhan Suleymanov called it a “very serious achievement that the next session of this influential organization will be held in Baku, capital of the country, which is a non-EU member.” The Armenian delegate Volsky called Baku “a dangerous place for the Armenian delegation” in response.

Sources: RFERL, News.az, Trend, History of Truth, Image