Ex-envoy questions why EU does not press Azerbaijan on occupied Armenian territories

A former Armenian ambassador has questioned why the European Union does not publicly call on Azerbaijan to withdraw its forces from occupied sovereign Armenian lands. He claims that the issue is not being raised consistently by the Armenian leaderships at international forums.

Edmon Marukyan, head of the Bright Armenia Party and a former ambassador-at-large, made the remarks in a social media post on Wednesday, responding to recent comments by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas regarding Russia’s military presence in other countries.

Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the EU had prepared a document outlining demands to be presented to Russia in the context of a potential peace agreement on Ukraine. She noted that Russia has occupied territories and stationed troops in several countries, including Georgia and Moldova, and stressed that lasting peace would require Moscow to withdraw from all territories where its forces are currently deployed.

Marukyan questioned why the EU’s top diplomat does not make similar statements about Azerbaijan’s occupation of Armenian territories, particularly given that tensions over the issue have escalated in recent years.

“The answer is obvious,” Marukyan wrote. “Armenia does not raise the issue at international platforms and our international partners are given the impression that there is no problem between us and the country that has occupied our territories.”

He stated that Armenia has made unilateral concessions in its relations with Azerbaijan and has incurred significant losses as a result.