European Parliament Speaker Hits Back at Aliyev

Aliyev Suspends Participation in European Legislative Partnership Programs

The European Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola on Monday hit back at President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan who condemned Europe’s legislative body for advancing the rights of Artsakh Armenians in a resolution passed last week ahead of the European Political Community summit currently underway in Yerevan.

Aliyev accused the European Parliament of sabotaging the peace process, saying the body is “targeting Azerbaijan by spreading lies and slanders.”

The European Parliament resolution, which passed with an overwhelming majority on Thursday, demanded the immediate release of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan and reaffirmed support for the forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians’ right to return to their homeland safely and “under international guarantees.” In a clear reference to the destruction of Armenian churches in Artsakh, the resolution also said “those responsible for the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage” must be held accountable.

“Unfortunately, not all European institutions demonstrate the same approach. Among them are the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,” Aliyev said, pointing to sanctions imposed by PACE against the Azerbaijani delegation.

“In September 2023, Azerbaijan put an end to separatism in Karabakh… Four months after that, PACE imposed sanctions on our delegation. Unfortunately, double standards are today a kind of modus operandi for PACE. Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity has the same value as that of any other country. And in this issue, double standards are unacceptable,” Aliyev said.

In accusing the European Parliament of sabotaging the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process Aliyev said, “Since May 2021, six months after the end of the Second Garabagh War, until April 30, 2026, the European Parliament has adopted 14 resolutions full of insults and lies about Azerbaijan.”

“The last one was adopted only four days ago, deliberately right before the summit. Instead of addressing fundamental problems of some member states, such as xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti Semitism, migration, competitiveness, and homelessness, the European Parliament targets Azerbaijan, spreading slander and lies. And the reason is that Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty, put an end to separatism, and brought war criminals to justice,” Aliyev asserted.

The Azerbaijani leader then announced that his government was suspending all participation in European legislative partnership programs.

In response, Metsola made it clear that the European Parliament will not bow to threats.

“The European Parliament is a democratic body with elected representatives, whose resolutions are adopted by majority vote. Its results may cause inconvenience to many, but we will never change our working methods and the position we adopt,” said Metsola.