Aliyev declares peace while attacking European institutions at EPC summit

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declared that peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia is “now a reality,” speaking via video link Monday at the 8th summit of the European Political Community, which took place in Yerevan.

The Azerbaijani president praised the role of the European Commission in supporting peace efforts, while sharply criticizing other European institutions, particularly the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. 

He described the European Parliament as “obsessed” with Azerbaijan, citing the 14 resolutions the body had passed since 2021 on issues such as the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and the prisoners being held by Baku. The latest such resolution was passed on April 30, and Aliyev went on to announce that it will cut off ties with the parliament as a result. 

Speaker of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, who was one of the leaders in attendance at the EPC, took the opportunity to respond directly to Aliyev, saying that while the body’s resolutions “may cause inconvenience to many, we will never change our working methods and the positions we adopt.” 

In his remarks, Aliyev noted that he had supported the idea of holding the summit in Armenia as early as last year during a meeting in Tirana, on the condition that a future summit would be hosted by Azerbaijan. He formally invited EPC members to Azerbaijan in May 2028, adding that Armenia had also backed Baku’s candidacy. According to Aliyev, this mutual support is a clear sign that peace between the two countries is already taking shape.

The first EPC summit was held in October 2022 in Prague as a show of support to Ukraine after the Russian invasion, and to coordinate European defense policy. It was within the framework of EPC meetings that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Aliyev, with mediation by Emmanuel Macron and Charles Michel, signed a declaration recognizing each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, referencing the United Nations Charter and the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. 

Of the previous seven summits, Aliyev attended all but two. Notably, he was absent from the October 2023 meeting in Spain, held just days after Azerbaijan launched a military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh that resulted in the forced displacement of the region’s entire Armenian population. The Azerbaijani delegation canceled its participation at the last minute, citing what it called an “anti-Azerbaijani atmosphere,” referring to statements by European leaders condemning Baku’s actions.

Concluding his remarks, Aliyev concluded by congratulating Pashinyan on hosting the event and emphasized that both countries remain committed to the peace agenda, despite what he described as attempts by certain forces to obstruct the process.