European Parliament Vice-President and rapporteur on Azerbaijan make joint statement condemning war crimes of Armenia

Brussels, July 7, AZERTAC Vice-President of the European Parliament Ryszard Czarnecki and European Parliament rapporteur for Azerbaijan Norica Nicolai have made a joint statement sharply condemning war crimes of Armenia and demanding to stop the senseless killing of civilians - women and children. The statement says: "We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, strongly condemn the murders of Allahverdiyeva Sahiba Idris (age 51) and Guliyeva Zahra Elnur (age 2) on the evening of July 4 by Armenian armed forces. The indiscriminate killing of civilians, women and children is unacceptable in any circumstances and must be stopped immediately." "It has emerged that this killing was the result of a mortar and grenade attack committed by Armenian armed personnel against Azerbaijani unarmed civilians in the village of Alkanli, in the Fuzuli province. There is no justification for such a grave, heinous crime and we call for an immediate investigation into the acts and a full, criminal investigation launched to identify and prosecute the culprits," the statement says. "We call for a cessation of all military operation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Violence and the escalation of aggressive action can only lead to further conflict and loss of life of innocents. Such thoughtless provocations and destruction is dangerous for the stability of the entire region of the South Caucasus. Furthermore, we call on the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments to renew and accelerate negotiations in order to find a peaceful, stable and sustainable solution for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territories." "We also wish to extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to assure than of our thought and prayers go with them," the satatement concludes.