Some Members of the European Parliament (MEP) believe Brussels is not doing enough over the humanitarian concerns in Nagorno-Karabakh, POLITICO reported.  

Nathalie Loiseau, a French MEP and chair of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defense, told POLITICO that the current Azerbaijani blockade of Karabakh is “illegal, cruel and contradictory with Baku’s claims that the territory belongs to Azerbaijan.”

“Now a humanitarian disaster is nearing, what do Russian ‘peacekeepers’ in the Lachin corridor [linking Karabakh to Armenia] do? Nothing,” Loiseau said. “The international community must realize that Russia has not been a peace-maker but has prolonged the conflict in South Caucasus and is not a reliable actor anymore.”

She also pointed out that the EU is a major buyer of energy coming from Azerbaijan.

“It makes our voice important. We mustn’t shy away from defending universal values. If we don’t do it, who will act?” Loiseau said. 

Marketa Gregorova, an MEP from the Greens/EFA grouping and a member of both the parliamentary delegation to Armenia and the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council, went further, telling POLITICO: “We could play a bigger role when we are helping negotiate.”

“Given we have a lot of economic and other relations with both countries, there are ways in which we can persuade them—but we aren’t using these.”

She added that there is a common understanding in the European Parliament that more needs to be done.

“But we’re a little bit dependent on what the Commission and Council decide to do,” Gregorova added.

According to her, an agreement signed between Brussels and Baku last summer to step up the import of natural gas in an effort to replace sanctioned Russian supplies has undermined the EU’s ability to apply pressure.

“Given the memorandum of understanding on gas from Azerbaijan, it’s clear that has an impact, and the reaction has been much weaker and slower,” the MEP said.