The article, authored by Martin Banks, features opinions of some MEPs condemning the European Parliament`s resolutions against Azerbaijan.

The author informs about the relevant steps of Azerbaijan regarding the adoption of the resolutions.

He said the stance of Azerbaijan is backed by a rising number of MEPs from various political parties, including Romanian EPP member Ramona Manescu who said: "The European Union and Azerbaijan must continue to work together. This cooperation is mutually beneficial not only in terms of the energy sector but also human rights."

The author says that Ramona Manescu acknowledged the "democratic values" of Azerbaijan, pointing out that it had signed up to several international agreements. "I believe," she went on, "that maintaining dialogue with Azerbaijan and strengthening the partnership is actually the way that the European Union must follow."

MEPs from several other parties have also criticized the resolution, including Gianluca Buonanno, a member of the Europe of Nations and Freedom Group, who said he "did not at all agree" with the resolution. The Lega Nord member added, "Europe must go there (to Azerbaijan) and talk with them and find solutions. This is the serious way to make a decent foreign policy."

Speaking in Parliament, another EPP parliamentary, Irish member Sean Kelly, said, "The suggestion that we should 'immediately' break off negotiations with Azerbaijan makes no sense, because if we were to do that and apply it to other countries in the world then we would have negotiations with no-one."

Leading ECR member Sajjad Karim, a British Conservative MEP, also spoke during the debate and said: "Azerbaijan is frustrated with the lack of progress over Nagorno-Karabakh. It feels that, far too often, the international community disregards the challenges it has had to face in the aftermath of this war in terms of refugees and internally displaced persons. It is true that the international community has probably not been as active as it could have been in solving this protracted conflict."

Cristian Dan Preda, EPP group coordinator for foreign affairs, explained the EPP opposition to the resolution, saying: "The EPP refrained from signing and voting for the joint resolution as we consider the text to be just a proof of radicalism that had no potential of bringing any positive effects. We wanted in this way to object also to the strategy of the Greens, which consisted on asking directly the plenary to take a decision on EU-Azerbaijan relations, including funding and dialogue on human rights, while bypassing the foreign affairs committee.

By voting against the resolution we wanted to object to the radical attitude expressed in the text and call for a realistic and smarter approach to EU-Azerbaijan relations, one which recognizes that the effective promotion of human rights passes through dialogue."

"So," said Dan Preda, "as a result of the resolution we lost one of the channels of communication we had with Azerbaijan."

AZERTAC