Aliyev Accepts European Parliament Delegation and Blames Pro-Armenian Stance

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, received a delegation from the European Parliament in Baku and expressed dissatisfaction with the parliament's anti-Azerbaijani stance.

“Our last meeting was in 2018. To be honest, I was a little surprised when I learned that you planned to visit Azerbaijan. I remember a meeting where we discussed the development of cooperation. But, unfortunately, that did not happen. The reason was not ours, but the position of some members of the European Parliament. We consider such a position to be absolutely unfounded,” said Aliyev during the meeting.

Aliyev stated that he had lost track of the total number of anti-Azerbaijani resolutions adopted by the European Parliament over various times.

“We are talking about more than 10 resolutions. Especially after the Patriotic War, a resolution was adopted that is particularly concerning, as it speaks about the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Karabakh. This is not true. That resolution was adopted this March. That is to say, it happened one and a half years after the end of the war,” Aliyev remarked.

Aliyev emphasized that representatives of embassies, political figures, speakers of parliaments from European countries, and journalists have visited areas under Azerbaijan's control. According to him, trips are now being organized, and every Azerbaijani citizen can visit Shusha, Fuzuli, and Aghdam to “see the scale of Armenian vandalism and barbarism.”

“In such conditions, the acceptance of a unilateral resolution which accuses Azerbaijan of actions that we have never committed, and ignores the actions of Armenia and Armenians in our territories, is absolutely unacceptable. Unfortunately, such a thing has happened. I know that many members of your delegation voted in favor of this resolution,” Aliyev said.

Aliyev questioned the European Parliament's attitude towards Azerbaijan, stating, “Sometimes it seems like these resolutions are adopted by the Armenian parliament, and there is some influence of an Armenian lobby group. Otherwise, it is impossible to understand.”