German weekly newspaper Junge Freiheit has published an article about the attack of Azerbaijan against Armenia, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, citing the statements of Members of the European Parliament that the EU Commission’s gas deal with Azerbaijan is a great mistake and has destroyed a lot of trust in Armenia.
‘EU Commission’s gas deal with Azerbaijan has destroyed a lot of trust in Armenia’ – MEP
STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 29, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: Author of the article Hinrich Rohbohm recalls that “in the night from September 12th to 13th of this year a conflict flared up again in the South Caucasus that is being forgotten in Europe in light of the atrocities of the Ukraine war. That night, Azerbaijan opened fire on its neighbor Armenia. Just over 100 Armenian soldiers were killed in the attack”, he said.
Touching upon the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Hinrich Rohbohm stated that the Azerbaijani military shelled Armenia’s settlements, including the town of Goris in Syunik province this September. Artillery shells slammed into the roof of Edgar Salbun’s house.
Rohbohm says “the Ukraine war is taking its toll on Russia”. “This is probably the reason why the conflict, which was frozen after the last war in 2020, has now broken out again”, he states.
The author also makes a reference to the Yerablur Armenian military cemetery, stating that there are those who gave their lives in defense of their country in September, when it was invaded by Azerbaijan.
“From the graves of the fallen soldiers, the view sweeps over to the mighty Mount Ararat, where, according to the Bible, Noah once landed with his ark after the Flood. The Christian faith is deeply rooted in the country, and the Armenian Apostolic Church is one of the oldest Christian denominations in the world”, he says.
“Once Armenia, which existed already in the first millennium before Christ, extended over large parts of eastern Turkey, reached in its heyday from the Caspian Sea to the eastern Mediterranean. But even in ancient times, the country was sandwiched between two great empires, the Roman Empire in the west and the Persian Empire in the east. Today, the country has long lost its access to the sea and, encircled by totalitarian regimes, is trying to assert its sovereignty and its remaining territory”, the author of the article says.
The article is also touching upon the recent visit of MEPs to Armenia. The delegation also included German lawmaker Lars Patrick Berg.
“Germany has so far been very reluctant to get involved in the South Caucasus,” MEP Berg said. Yet the region, as a “link between Europe and Asia,” is of “geopolitical importance,” especially from an energy and trade perspective, he said.
“The EU Commission’s gas deal with Azerbaijan has destroyed a lot of trust in Armenia,” Berg emphasized.
His Dutch colleague Peter van Dalen from the European People’s Party (EPP) also sees it that way. “I think the gas deal with Azerbaijan is a momentous mistake.”
Former European Parliament Vice President Fabio Massimo Castaldo of Italy’s Five Star Movement also calls for stronger EU efforts to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means.
