The EU should stop being a neutral player between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Former NATO Secretary General to Brussels

Former Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on Brussels to abandon the policy of equal distance between Armenia and Azerbaijan and to play its own role in mediating negotiations on a long-term peace agreement between the latter, ceasing to be a neutral player.

According to "Armenpress", the former Secretary General of NATO said this in an article published in "Le Monde".

In his opinion, while all attention is focused on Russia's illegal war against Ukraine, another major geopolitical shift is taking place in Europe, this time in the South Caucasus. Despite the historical, economic, energy and military dependence on Russia, as well as the physical presence of thousands of Russian soldiers on its territory, the RA government has made bold and concerted efforts to strengthen democracy in Armenia and establish closer relations with the democratic West.

"This reorientation takes time, but it also requires the European Union to adopt a more ambitious strategy regarding democracy in Armenia. First of all, it is necessary to put an end to the misconceptions that the EU should be a neutral player between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Europe should play its role in mediating negotiations on a long-term peace agreement. However, his approach should reflect the reality that Armenia has chosen the community of European democracies, while Azerbaijan is in the camp of aggressive autocracies. The lack of European clarity and ambitions can endanger Armenia's young democracy and its geopolitical axis," Rasmussen said.

Referring to the tripartite meeting to be held on April 5 in Brussels, Anders Fogh Rasmussen added: "This new EU approach should begin at the tripartite summit to be held in Brussels on April 5, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will receive RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Armenia has already frozen relations with the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, held military exercises with the United States and sought to expand its economic ties with democracies, but after Azerbaijan's attack on Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, as well as the continued occupation of strategic heights in Armenia by Azerbaijani forces. the security situation remains unstable."