EU Praises Aliyev for Peace While Ignoring Armenian POWs and Ethnic Cleansing
Von der Leyen praised Aliyev for promoting peace and cooperation. Not a word about Armenian POWs, ethnic cleansing, or destroyed churches.
During her July 1-2 visit to the South Caucasus, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a 200 million euro Global Gateway investment package in Baku while praising Aliyev for promoting peace and regional cooperation. Yet she made no public statement about the Armenian prisoners of war still held in Azerbaijan, the complete ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s 150,000+ Armenian inhabitants in September 2023, or the documented destruction of Armenian churches and cultural monuments in the region.
The contrast with her behavior in Yerevan underscores a troubling pattern. While in Armenia, von der Leyen countered Russia’s trade embargo with autonomous trade measures freeing 80% of Armenian exports from EU tariffs. Yet she offered this support to a government actively criminalizing and persecuting its own opposition through mass arrests and show trials-issues she did not publicly address. The hosts emphasize that the EU’s silence on Baku’s human rights abuses, combined with its vocal criticism of the 44-Day War in 2020, reveals a shift in European priorities: securing transit corridors and energy supplies now takes precedence over human rights concerns.
This moment captures a broader geopolitical reality that angers many Armenians. The EU frames its engagement with Azerbaijan through the lens of regional connectivity and economic partnership, implying that stability and infrastructure development matter more than accountability for ethnic cleansing or continued detention of prisoners. For Armenia, this means that EU support, while materially helpful, comes with an implicit message: your security and the rights of your people are secondary to Europe’s strategic interests in Central Asia and energy independence from Russia.
Transcript
Asbed: In Baku von der Leyen praised Aliyev for promoting peace and cooperation and Asbed: I know, Hovik, Asbed: That you would expect von der Leyen to also say something Asbed: About human rights concerns in Baku, Asbed: And that includes, Asbed: Of course, Asbed: Armenian POWs still held in Baku, Asbed: The ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, Asbed: The destruction of Armenian monuments, Christian churches and heritage. Asbed: But did she do any of that? Asbed: There was none of that. Asbed: So what's interesting is that this peace and cooperation that she's praising Aliyev Asbed: About six years ago if we were to go back there were a lot Asbed: Of complaints documented complaints from all quarters of Europe in the middle of Asbed: The 44 day war but all of that is now gone and it’s peace and prosperity at Asbed: The same time in Yerevan the West is backing Pashinyan's government despite the fact Asbed: That there is a huge and ramping Asbed: Authoritarianism going on Asbed: The stolen elections post election arrests we will talk just a little bit about Asbed: That it’s it’s kind of crazy what's going on in Armenia