The appeal reads:

“Honourable Members,

I write to you to express my definite objection to your debate, vote and the adopted resolution in Brussels on the 15th of April 2015 on the centenary of the so-called Armenian “genocide”, in my behalf as vice-president of Euronest PA and chair of the Azerbaijan Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. I wish to express my deepest displeasure at this unfortunate decision by your House and my surprise at this attempt to destabilize an already security sensitive region. 

There is no unilateral position of the Member States of the European Union on the unfortunate events taking place one century ago in the Ottoman Empire and rightfully so. Most EU members, a majority of countries in the world, EU commissioners, politicians and parties refrain from engaging with such direct language and understand the importance of peace and stability. However, due to an unprecedented pro-Armenian pattern developing in the European Parliament in recent years, it seems that once again you have adopted their particular views on the world, without scrutiny and proper understanding. Archives are still closed on the events in both Armenia and most European countries and it seems clear that this refusal to open them can only mean a changing of the truth to something more suitable Armenians.

Your House has shown such double standards in the past and this is not the first time, unfortunately. You openly defend Armenian interests and at the same time intend to unjustly get trampled Azerbaijan and Turkey by Armenia, at every opportunity and don’t give up your biased position. You fail to call Armenia to order over its occupation of Azerbaijani territories. In fact, you fail in any way to recognize the events in Khojaly of 1992, when Armenian troops committed a well-documented genocide against an entire Azeri population! You chose, however, to adapt once again the Armenian discourse. You ignore the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, the occupation of Kelbajar, Lachin, Kubatli, Jebrail, Zangelan, Agdam and Fuzuli, pretending it doesn’t exist! The denial of Khojaly Genocide by you, the denial of the occupation by you should itself by illegal and condemned! March of this year marked 110th anniversary of the genocide of Azerbaijani people by Armenians. You failed to recognize this genocide, even to remember about it!

For countries outside the EU it is becoming rather difficult to understand your foreign policy. On one hand, you claim to defend peace, security, stability, human rights and democracy. On the other, you defend Armenia, a country which even at the time you are reading this letter, is having troops occupying Azeri lands and shooting at Azeri citizens, with a problematic regime which has shot its own citizens in the streets during anti-government protests! The same country which refuses to normalize relations with Turkey due to events taking place one hundred years ago, the same country which has chosen to enter the Eurasian Union rather than dealing with the European Union!

Furthermore, this resolution bases on geopolitical reasons and religious factors. The Pope’s speech on 12th April was an obvious proof of it and a signal for the beginning of a specific crusade against Muslim Turkey.

Instead of promoting peaceful coexistence, tolerance, and solidarity between Turkish and Armenian nations within your activity, you called through your irrational resolution not to peace, but to mutual hatred and hostility, like rupture between Ukraine and Russia created by you, which is very dangerous for future generations.

Your behavior is, indeed, bizarre and might explain the rising disappointment and distrust many European citizens feel towards the European Parliament. Indeed, it is messages like this that explain why Azeri voters are increasingly hostile to increased or even further cooperation with Europe. From now on, after such resolutions coming from you one after another in the past years, it seems unlikely our constituents would support any more activities in Euronest for our delegation.

Unfortunately, it seems the Armenian agenda is being promoted in other places as well. The recent unfortunate statement made by PACE President, Ms. Anne Brasseur mirror the incorrect position of your hose.

We refuse to your resolution, as unilateral, groundless, and biased document, which unfairly defends Armenians, who were historically known for their aggression and repeatedly committed genocide against Turkish and Azerbaijani people.

I call on you, dear Members, to realize that you are being manipulated by Armenian lobbyists and to begin to examine the actual impact and consistency of your messages!”.

Elkhan Suleymanov

Vice-president of the Euronest PA