Not to support the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict means to agree with Stalin’s then Soviet national policy in the Caucasus, “said MEP Jaromír Štětina has said in a statement.
MEP Jaromir Steinin (TOP 09) was accused by Baku for violation of Azerbaijani law after his February visit to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan even issued an international arrest warrant. Now a Member of the European Parliament has received a confirmation that the Interpol headquarters in Lyon has actually received an initiative from the Azerbaijani authorities. However, Interpol decided not to comply with the requests, and at the same time asked all Interpol member states to delete and not enter into their national databases information concerning Jaromír Štětina.
The dispute concerned a visit to Nagorno-Karabakh, which was attended by three Members of the European Parliament on 20 February 2017, namely the Czech MEP Jaromir Stein, the Luxembourg Member Frank Engel and the Cypriot Eleni Theocharous.
MEPs visited Karabakh on the day of the local referendum, which decided to adopt a new constitution. It includes the definition of the presidential powers and the renaming of this territorial unit to the Artsakh Republic (the Old-Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh).
“The European Union recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, de facto, however, Nagorno-Karabakh is an economically, politically and militarily independent territory in total. The release of the arrest warrant for three Members of the European Parliament was intended to intimidate hundreds of international experts working in Nagorno-Karabakh today. Intimidation and coercion are common instruments of the Azerbaijani dictatorship. Not to support the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict means to agree with Stalin’s then Soviet national policy in the Caucasus, “said MEP Jaromír Štětina, Vice-Chairman of the EP Subcommittee on Defense and Security.
“I’m glad, and I also expected Interpol to sweep away the Azerbaijani request from the table. What got me out of the chair is a letter from the representatives of the Azerbaijani Parliament, claiming that we are responsible for the military escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh. This is a terrible claim that I totally refuse, for I know well that the Azerbaijani and Armenian soldiers carry this loss of life in this war. I received support from the European Parliament, including the support of President Tajani, “says Jaromír Štětina, who knows the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh already 25 years ago, as he was a war reporter and journalist.
