A resolution adopted by it deplores the “tragic humanitarian consequences of the blockade” which it says were aggravated by “Azerbaijan’s disruption of the natural gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh.”
The resolution also condemns the “inaction” of Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh that are supposed to control the Lachin corridor. It says that “their replacement with OSCE international peacekeepers, under a UN mandate, should be negotiated urgently.”
The European Union’s legislature added that the EU should do more to “ensure that the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh are no longer held hostage by Baku’s activism, Russia’s destructive role and the Minsk Group’s inactivity.”
The EU as well as the United States and Russia have repeatedly called for the reopening of Karabakh’s land link with Armenia since it was blocked by Azerbaijani government-backed protesters on December 12. Azerbaijan has dismissed such calls, saying that the protesters are right to demand that Baku be allowed to inspect “illegal” mining in Karabakh.
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov said on Thursday that his country has a legitimate right to establish “full control” over the corridor.
The 2020 truce accord placed the corridor under the control of Russian peacekeeping forces and committed Azerbaijan to guaranteeing safe passage through it, a fact emphasized by the European Parliament.
Meanwhile, the Karabakh premier, Ruben Vardanyan, criticized the EU’s recent oil and gas deals with Azerbaijan, saying that the 27-nation bloc thus “accepts the authoritarian regime” in Baku. In an interview with the France 24 TV channel cited by his office, Vardanyan said the EU should instead pressure Baku to lift the blockade.