BAKU. March 14 (Interfax) - The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has called the European Parliament resolution urging the conclusion of an Azerbaijani-Armenian peace agreement as biased and unfounded.
"The resolution on closer ties between the EU and Armenia and the need for a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, adopted by the European Parliament on March 13 is not just unfounded and biased, but also serves as yet another illustrative example of double standards towards our country," ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said on Thursday.
He proposed that the European Parliament "address more serious issues plaguing Europe, such as racial discrimination, Islamophobia, xenophobia, extremism and inhumane treatment of migrants, instead of interfering with the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia."
"We remind European Parliament members that such resolutions, which have nothing to do with the European Parliament's declared values, completely invalidate its role as an institution," Hajizada said.
The European Parliament also called on Azerbaijan to engage in dialogue with Karabakh's Armenians, "to ensure respect for their rights and guarantee their security" and "to release and commit to broad amnesty for all the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia who continue to be in Azerbaijani custody."
Furthermore, the European Parliament backed the resumption of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on "all pending issues" and called on both sides to remain committed to "a lasting and peaceful settlement of the long-standing dispute, through dialogue and negotiations." The two countries' dialogue should be based on recognition of each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity and on the non-use of force principle, it said.
The European Parliament called on Turkey and other allies of Azerbaijan to contribute to the peace process.