Armenpress News Agency, Armenia
 Wednesday


Armenian Parliament Vice Speaker slams Latvia-Azerbaijan declaration
as "unacceptable, strange"



YEREVAN, 19 JULY, ARMENPRESS. Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament
Eduard Sharmazanov finds it at least strange and odd that a EU member
country – Latvia – is signing a strategic cooperation declaration with
one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes: the Azerbaijani
president.

In an interview with ARMENPRESS, the Vice Speaker reminded that the
very European media and structures have numerously talked about the
human rights abuse, corruption scandals and support to terrorism by
Azerbaijan.

“If the EU is the embodiment of human rights protection and democratic
institutions, then how can one understand the cooperation of a EU
member country and the most authoritarian regime of the world –
moreover in the military sector. I, as the leader of the
Armenian-Latvian friendship MP group, express my doubt to my European
colleagues. This is unacceptable at least for me, because th European
Union is first of all the protection of human rights and freedoms. And
if you profess these values and sign a strategic declaration with a
country which is thousands of miles away from protection of human
rights, then this puts your reputation to doubt”, Sharmazanov said.

Commenting on the ideas and assessments which were voices in Latvia,
the Vice Speaker mentioned that they have serious discontent in this
regard.

“Latvia is a EU country, and any EU country must maintain the official
EU stances in at least the official statements. In this specific
statement and declaration, speaking on the process of Nagorno Karabakh
settlements, it mentions peaceful settlement, territorial integrity,
inviolability of borders, but there is not a word about the right of
self-determination. To the consideration of our Latvian colleagues, it
must be mentioned that a Minsk Group co-chairmanship format exists,
where three principles exist. One of them is the principle of
exercising the self-determination right, at least five statements of
the Minsk Group co-chairing countries’ presidents are available on
this. One of these co-chairing countries, France, is a EU member
state, and not once has the EU, Mrs. Mogherini, declared that the
three principles of the Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, which include the
self-determination right and the exercise of this right, are
inviolable”, he said.

He found it at least uncertain and unacceptable that a EU member
country does not mention the self-determination right in the
statement.

Speaking about Baku’s assessments about the declaration, Sharmazanov
said: “If Azerbaijan got so happy about this declaration, let me
remind that without the complete implementation of the
self-determination right of the people of NK the problem cannot be
solved, while territorial integrity has nothing to do with Nagorno
Karabakh, because it hasn’t been part of independent Azerbaijan for a
single moment”.