Azerbaijan has lost the trust of the international community and is no longer seen as a trustworthy partner, said the German Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Michael Roth at a press conference in Yerevan on 23 October.
Roth said he opposes the expansion of EU energy cooperation with Azerbaijan, and also intends to promote the development of a package of sanctions against Baku. According to the parliamentarian, “authoritarian countries understand only one language, and they need to be shown what consequences await them after using forceful methods.”
“The uniformity of policy that we pursued towards young and democratic Armenia and rich and authoritarian Azerbaijan has failed. This means we must reconsider our policy, that is, have a clear position in relation to these two countries,” the deputy said.
Michael Roth stated that he supports the expansion of the EU monitoring mission in Armenia for the sake of its security; he also spoke in favor of rapprochement between Armenia and the EU. He also supported the liberalization of Armenia's visa regime with the EU.
“This suggests that the EU should deepen economic and political cooperation with Armenia as soon as possible, as well as provide urgent and feasible support to internally displaced persons from Karabakh,” Roth said.
“I have the feeling the Armenian society wants to free itself from dependence on Russia, and this is reflected not only in the speeches of the Prime Minister, but also in the mood of the society, which sees itself as part of the EU and Europe. Personally, I have not met anyone in Armenia who would like to live like in the dictatorial system of Russia. I have seen Armenians who want to live in freedom, prosperity and dignity, like in Europe. Therefore, I will encourage the EU to support Armenia in these efforts. This is a difficult path, but it is worth taking,” the German MP said.
To notet during his visit, Roth met with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan, head of the Parliamentary Commission on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly Sarkis Khandanyan, as well as representatives of civil society. The parliamentarian also plans also to visit the Syunik region of Armenia.
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