Azerbaijan Halts All Cooperation with European Parliament

On the local time of May 1st, the National Assembly of Azerbaijan held a plenary session and adopted a landmark resolution with a unanimous vote, officially announcing the immediate termination of all bilateral and multilateral parliamentary cooperation with the European Parliament, and at the same time initiating the relevant procedures for withdrawing from the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. The parliamentary-level diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union have thus fallen into a state of comprehensive freeze, becoming a landmark event in the field of geopolitical diplomacy in the South Caucasus region recently.

The direct trigger for Azerbaijan's tough move this time was the resolution on the South Caucasus region adopted by the European Parliament on April 30th. According to the official statement of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, the resolution unilaterally focuses on issues related to the Nagorno-Karabakh region, ignores the principles of Azerbaijan's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, unjustly accuses Azerbaijan of its legitimate law enforcement and border management measures, judges the regional situation with double standards, has long maintained a biased stance against Azerbaijan, and repeatedly adopts unilateral resolutions involving Azerbaijan to interfere in its internal affairs, which has become a core obstacle to the normal exchanges at the parliamentary level between Azerbaijan and the European Union.

According to the official resolution adopted by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, the termination of cooperation covers all fields and channels: on the one hand, it fully suspends the operation of the inter-parliamentary cooperation committee between the two sides, cancels all scheduled parliamentary exchanges, working group consultations and official dialogue activities, and closes the established liaison and docking channels between the two sides; on the other hand, it officially initiates the procedure for withdrawing from the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. During the transition period, the Azerbaijani delegation will be absent from all meetings under this mechanism, completely cutting off the multilateral linkage with the European Parliament. The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan emphasized in an official statement after the meeting that this move is by no means a temporary measure, but a legitimate response to the European Parliament's long-term interference in the internal affairs of other countries and violation of the principle of sovereign equality. Azerbaijan has always adhered to the supremacy of national sovereignty and will never accept political pressure and ideological interference from any external forces.

Looking back at the course of exchanges between the two sides, this is not the first time that the relations between Azerbaijan and the European Parliament have turned cold. Previously, the two sides once suspended cooperation briefly due to similar differences, and although it was gradually restored later, the European Parliament did not adjust its biased stance on Azerbaijan. This time, the contradictions were completely intensified, eventually leading to a comprehensive disconnection. It is worth noting that Azerbaijan clearly stated that this move against the European Parliament does not represent a shift in Azerbaijan's overall diplomacy towards Europe, nor does it mean taking sides among regional powers. Azerbaijan will still adhere to a multi-balanced foreign policy and maintain pragmatic cooperation with all parties on the premise of respecting sovereign equality.

From the perspective of the regional geopolitical pattern, this incident further highlights the complexity of the diplomatic game in the South Caucasus region. At present, Armenia continues to promote the process of diplomacy towards Europe, while Azerbaijan firmly resists external interference, leading to the intensification of the divergence in the diplomatic routes of the two sides. The EU's layout of infiltrating the South Caucasus region through parliamentary mechanisms has encountered obvious resistance. Analysts pointed out that if the European Parliament does not abandon double standards and respect the sovereignty and independence of all countries, there will be no room for the restoration of Azerbaijan-EU parliamentary relations in the short term. Although the pragmatic cooperation between the two sides in economy, trade, energy and other fields has not been directly affected for the time being, the follow-up trend is still uncertain, and the geopolitical balance pattern in the South Caucasus region may usher in new adjustments.

Up to now, the European Parliament has not issued a comprehensive response to Azerbaijan's official resolution, and the follow-up trends of relevant diplomacy need to be continuously concerned.