On October 18, at a meeting in Strasbourg, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a statement on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions.
In particular, the statement says that the European Union continues to monitor with concern the situation of Armenians forcibly evicted from Nagorno-Karabakh and notes that Azerbaijan must comply with the provisional measures determined by the European Court of Human Rights on 22 September, that is, refrain from actions that violate the Convention on human rights, in particular Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment).
“We took note of President Aliyev's public remarks about willingness to live in peace with Karabakh Armenians and preserve their rights. Azerbaijan has a clear primary responsibility for the fate of the population. Tangible, concrete and transparent guarantees must be provided. As an important confidence-building measure, we expect a comprehensive amnesty for all Karabakh Armenians, including their representatives, and restraint by all sides from harsh rhetoric,” the statement said.
The Council of Ministers also emphasizes the importance of independent monitoring of the situation on the ground and notes two recent UN missions in Artsakh.
The statement once again expresses support for the sovereignty, inviolability of borders and territorial integrity of both Azerbaijan and Armenia. “We call on Azerbaijan to reaffirm its unequivocal commitment to the territorial integrity of Armenia, in line with the 1991 Almaty Declaration,” the document notes.
As reported on the CE website, the document alined with by a number of non-EU European states, not only by representatives of EU member states, but also by other European countries, such as Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway and San Marino.
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