Over 50 MEPs urge Azerbaijan to release all Armenian POWs and hostages ahead of COP29

In the run-up to Conference of the Parties – COP29 to be held in Azerbaijan in November 2024, 52 MEPs issued a statement emphasizing that besides being an impactful and significant conference on climate, it also embodies commitment to principles of justice and human dignity, the EAFJD reports.

“It is of paramount importance for the host country, in this case Azerbaijan, to showcase commitment to these principles too. In line with the relevant resolutions and reports of the European Parliament, adopted since May 2021, we call on the Azerbaijani Government to immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and captives in Baku, including the military-political leadership of Nagorno Karabakh; ensure that the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Nagorno Karabakh stays intact, including the monasteries khachkars and refrain from their albanisation as well as history revisionism; refrain from threats and any aggression against the Republic of Armenia, withdraw the Azerbaijani military forces from the occupied territories of the Republic of Armenia,” the statement reads.

MEPs have called on the EU Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to heed the above-mentioned resolutions adopted by the European Parliament and act in their spirit.