Russia's failure to ensure peace and security in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh is a 'betrayal' of the Armenian people, Charles Michel told Euronews on Monday.
The European Council President condemned Russia's peacekeeping forces, present in Nagorno-Karabakh since a peace deal was brokered by Moscow in 2020, for standing aside as Baku launched its military action.
"It is clear for everyone to see that Russia has betrayed the Armenian people," Michel told Euronews' Global Conversation.
"Russia wanted to have soldiers on the ground to guarantee this peace and security agreement. But we see that the military operation was launched without the slightest reaction from the Russian peacekeeping forces in the territory. The European Union, on the other hand, had no force or military presence on the ground," he added.
Michel has played a leading role in recent EU attempts to de-escalate the decades-old conflict, convening both sides for talks in Brussels as Pashinyan looked to the West for support.
But the bloc has come under fire for its unfruitful mediation efforts and for refraining from sanctioning Azerbaijan. Members of the European Parliament hailed Michel's mediation attempts a "total failure", accusing EU leaders of failing to name the aggressor and ignoring Armenia’s pleas.
Michel rejected this criticism, telling Euronews that "European mediation, which was conducted in parallel with others such as that of the US, enabled us to advance, for example with prisoner exchanges, and to better understand how to improve the connectivity of this region to ensure better future stability."
"We also made progress on texts that aim to ensure a future peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan."
"But having said that, I am extremely disappointed by the decision that was taken by Azerbaijan and I have expressed that very firmly to President Aliyev," he added.
He also said that Baku remains an EU partner despite its brazen attack.
"Azerbaijan is a partner today, yes, it’s a partner. That doesn’t mean the relationship is simple. No, it’s not simple. Are there difficulties? Yes, and these difficulties are real and should be understood," he explained.
