By Ani Avetisyan
Officials in Armenia, the European Parliament and a number of US Congressmen called for sanctions against Azerbaijan following its attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and the ethnic cleansing of the region’s 120,000 Armenians. While the statements are strong, officials remain mild in their actions, with no concrete plans set for holding Baku responsible.
The EU Parliament adopted a nonbinding resolution on October 5, condemning Azerbaijan’s attack and calling for “targeted” sanctions against “the individuals in the Azerbaijani government responsible for multiple ceasefire violations and violations of human rights in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
The European Parliament’s call marked the first official call for sanctions in the EU, yet with little to zero chance for the adopted document to be taken to the European Commission.
Speaking during the EU-led summit in Granada, the EU Commission head Ursula Von Der Leyen said that they have “condemned” Azerbaijan’s attack very strongly and that it is “important for them” to “support Armenia.” She avoided addressing the possibility of sanctions.
In a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), Von Der Leyen stated that the United States and the European Union were planning an “event” to support Armenia without specifying any details.
“The EU stands with Armenia”, she wrote.
Von Der Leyen has been widely criticised for praising the EU’s gas deal with Azerbaijan and calling Baku a “reliable partner” for the union. The head of the EU Commission has remained silent on the tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan until Azerbaijan’s recent aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan launched its full-scale attack on Karabakh on September 19, forcing the region to surrender in less than 24 hours, leaving hundreds dead and missing. The region’s authorities agreed to disband the arm and dissolve the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
The attack was followed by the mass exodus of the region’s population, resulting in the complete ethnic cleansing of around 120 thousand Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in about a week.
In an interview with Euronews, EU Council President Charles Michel stated that there are “difficulties” in the EU’s relations with Azerbaijan following the recent events but that Azerbaijan is still a partner of the European Union. Azerbaijan emerged as an energy partner for the EU since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is providing as little as 3% of the total gas import of the 27-state union.
“Today, it [Azerbaijan] is a partner. But does that mean that the relationship is simple? No, the relationship is not simple. Is it difficult? Yes, and these real difficulties need to be understood,” Michel said.
French President Emmanuel Macron was the only one to explicitly state that it does not plan to sanction Azerbaijan, saying that sanctions might have the opposite effect on the country. Suggesting that a “dialogue” with Azerbaijan is crucial.
“France has no problem with Azerbaijan, but Azerbaijan seems to have a problem with international law,” he said.
Speaking to Politico in September, anonymous EU officials said there was “little appetite” in the EU to punish Azerbaijan, with only Lithuania offering to have all the “options” on the table, with Hungary being the most “tricky one.” Hungary has reportedly also blocked an EU statement addressing the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Several US congressmen called on the US government to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan. Yet, the Biden administration has also remained silent on the possibility of sanctions despite the previous statements that the US would not “tolerate” the use of force against Nagorno-Karabakh.
