21:15, 9 March 2023
YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstra, stressed the fact of Azerbaijan's occupation of the territory of Armenia, emphasizing that the EU calls on Azerbaijan to return to its borders of September 12, 2022, ARMENPRESS reports the Federation of Armenian Organizations of the Netherlands informs that the Minister said this in response to the questions of several parliamentary factions regarding the meeting of the leaders of the Netherlands and Azerbaijan in Davos.
Wopke Hoekstra informed that the meeting held in Davos in January between Prime Minister Rutte and President Aliyev was initiated by the Dutch side in order to convey the concerns about the blockade of Lachin Corridor, during which the Dutch Prime Minister emphasized that the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh should not become victims of the political situation and emphasized the unblocking of the Lachin Corridor in fulfillment of the 2020 trilateral agreement.
The Dutch FM informed that the Netherlands is also actively working within the framework of the EU and the Council of Europe to unblock the Lachin Corridor, noting that Azerbaijan is poorly implementing the rulings of the ECHR.
In the answers to the parliamentarians' questions, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands confirmed that Azerbaijan imports gas from Russia to ensure the fulfillment of its obligations to the European Union and emphasized that this issue will be raised by the European Commission.
Minister Wopke Hoekstra reaffirmed Azerbaijan's occupation of Armenian territory, stressing that the EU calls on Azerbaijan to return to the borders of September 12, 2022.
In his answers, the Minister also referred to the issue of Armenian prisoners of war held illegally in Azerbaijan, assuring that the necessity of their repatriation is constantly raised in negotiations with Azerbaijani officials.