Azerbaijan slams EU–Armenia agenda as biased, harmful to peace
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issued a sharply worded statement on Tuesday, condemning the newly signed Strategic Agenda for EU–Armenia Partnership and accusing the document of distorting post-conflict realities and undermining the peace process with Armenia, News.Az reports, citing the Foreign Ministry.
The statement, released after the agenda was adopted at the 6th EU–Armenia Partnership Council meeting in Brussels on 2 December, said Baku views the prioritisation of several issues as “a matter of serious concern.”
“The inclusion of issues targeting Azerbaijan in this bilateral document, which sets the strategic priorities between the EU and Armenia for the next seven years, is unacceptable,” the ministry said, adding that the agenda “negatively affects the prospects of Azerbaijan–EU relations.”
According to the Foreign Ministry, the document’s references to “Karabakh Armenians displaced following Azerbaijan’s military operations” misrepresent the situation. “Describing Armenian residents who voluntarily migrated from Azerbaijan to Armenia after rejecting reintegration proposals as ‘refugees’ is a vivid example of bias against Azerbaijan,” the statement said.
The ministry also criticised the agenda’s support for the “full, immediate and effective implementation” of International Court of Justice rulings, saying the language “clearly refers to the well-known claims brought by Armenia against Azerbaijan,” while ignoring Baku’s own legal proceedings. Bringing such matters into an EU–Armenia framework is “entirely irrational,” the ministry argued.
Baku further noted that the provision contradicts the peace agreement initialled in Washington D.C. on 8 August, which includes an article on eliminating such claims. “This raises serious questions about the proclaimed intention of the Armenian side,” the ministry said.
Another point of contention is the document’s identification of Armenians detained in Azerbaijan as “prisoners of war.” The Foreign Ministry rejected this characterisation as “a serious distortion of realities,” noting that those individuals “are accused of and sentenced for crimes against humanity and war crimes.”
Azerbaijan also expressed concern that the agenda endorses Armenia’s “crossroads of peace” initiative while failing to mention the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), an agreement reached during the 8 August Washington summit. “This raises questions about Armenia’s seriousness in implementing its commitments,” the statement said, as well as about the EU’s support for the project, which was co-signed by Armenia’s prime minister.
The ministry strongly objected to the EU’s decision to maintain and fully operationalise the EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia (EUMA), saying it contradicts Article 7 of the initialled peace agreement, which “obliges not to allow the deployment of any third party’s forces along the shared border.” EUMA, the ministry added, “has been used as a propaganda tool against Azerbaijan.”
Among other concerns, the ministry said the agenda’s emphasis on military and defence issues “serves to promote Armenia’s militarisation.”
“These provisions revive elements of the former conflict despite the positive progress achieved since 8 August,” the statement concluded. “Our expectation is that Armenia and the EU will take concrete steps to remove these harmful provisions, which do not reflect current realities. For our part, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and draw the necessary conclusions.”
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