A member of the Swedish Parliament hopes that in the future, Europe will consider Armenia to be a part of European civilization.
April 15, Armenian Press, Yerevan. Erik Hellsborn, a member of the Swedish Parliament, hopes that in the future, Europe will view Armenia as a member of the European cultural family and Western democratic civilization. In this regard, he underlined the importance of the high-level conference between the US, EU, and Armenia that took place in Brussels on April 5.
In an interview with Armenpress, Erik Hellsborn discussed the aforementioned subjects. The Swedish Member of Parliament emphasized the significance of closer ties between Armenia and the EU, as well as the EU’s role in the security and prosperity of the South Caucasus.Speaking about Azerbaijan’s continuous threats against Armenia, its annexation of Armenian lands, and the possibility that the European Union will impose sanctions on Azerbaijan as a result of these actions, Erik Hellsborn emphasized that some members of the union are reluctant to stand up to the Aliyev regime for financial reasons. The Swedish Parliament member stated that he is not one of them.
The Swedish MP said that in February of this year, he suggested discussing the possibility of placing penalties on Azerbaijan in the event that Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia continued in a letter to the Kingdom of Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tobias Billström.”In the early hours of February 13, the Azerbaijani military opened fire on the border with Armenia, resulting in the deaths of four Armenian servicemen,” Erik Hellsborn specifically stated in the aforementioned letter to the Swedish Foreign Minister. Four soldiers from the Armenian Armed Forces were killed on February 13, 2023, after Azerbaijan opened fire on Armenian positions near the Nerkin Hand hamlet in the Syunik region for several hours. It is viewed as “disgarceful” that Azerbaijan would take a more measured approach after seizing control of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory last year. Armenia should not be an independent nation, according to President Aliyev of Azerbaijan, who also referred to the region as “Western Azerbaijan.”In this framework, border aggressiveness needs to be understood. If things got out of hand and started to turn into more violence or maybe a new conflict, it would be very awful. It is imperative to stop this escalation since it would cause great misery for people. Sweden and the rest of the world should call Azerbaijan’s envoy for talks in response to the country’s militaristic aggression and imperialist statements. Talks regarding the imposition of sanctions on the nation ought to be taken into consideration if nothing changes.
In reference to the operations of the EU observer mission in Armenia, Hellsborn stated that he was pleased with the mission’s performance and that it should keep up its excellent work.The EU mission in Armenia should carry on with its excellent work; its expansion is a welcome development. Human rights organizations, politicians like me, and the media in the West must keep drawing attention to acts of aggression and ensuring that everyone is aware of what is going on. The most crucial thing, though, may be closer cultural and economic relations between Armenia and the democratic West.
From a longer view, this is the most significant factor, in my opinion. My dream is that in the future, Armenia will be seen as a member of the democratic Western civilization and the European cultural family by both Europe and Armenia itself. Any potential attacker would be more reluctant to strike a nation that the collective West view as “one of us,” Swedish MP said.
About The Author
