News - European Council head: Karabakh Armenians’ rights must be guaranteed within Azerbaijan constitution framework

The rights and security of Karabakh Armenians must be guaranteed within the framework of the constitution of Azerbaijan. European Council President Charles Michel said this in an interview with the RFE/RL Armenian Service, adding that the European Union continues negotiations with the leadership of Baku on this matter. We believe that ethnic Armenians should have the right to return to Karabakh, or at least be able to visit that part of Azerbaijan, and their safety and rights should be guaranteed. Regarding the protection of minorities, there are international standards that must be respected under the constitution of Azerbaijan, within the framework of which the rights of minorities must be guaranteed, said Michel. To RFE/RL’s remark that after the second Karabakh war, the Armenian side claimed that the Armenians of Karabakh should be given international guarantees of security and protection of their rights, and asked whether there is a reference to that matter in the peace treaty, or whether it has lost its urgency after the de-Armenianization of Karabakh, the head of the European Council responded that he does not want to delve into the details, but at the same time emphasized that the guarantor of this matter should be the authorities of Azerbaijan. We are communicating a lot with the president of Azerbaijan on this topic to raise awareness and try to convince the Azerbaijani authorities to show that they want to protect minorities and ensure that international standards are respected. This is the political debate we have, said the President of the European Council, and added that he sincerely hopes that we can make progress on a priority issue for the EU.