Azernews.Az

BRUSSELS – The inaugural meeting of the European Parliament's Eastern Partnership assembly was held in Brussels on Tuesday without Belarus, which has been expelled from Euronest despite its partners’ appeals.

Euronest is meant to provide a parliamentary forum to the Eastern Partnership program, aimed at forging the European Union's closer ties with six East European countries through trade agreements and visa liberalizations.

Lawmakers from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine attended the meeting.

The European Union has decided to temporarily suspend Belarus from Euronest as part of the sanctions on President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's government following the violent crackdown against protesters after December's disputed presidential election. The parliament speakers of the partner countries have lately sent an appeal to the European Parliament calling for Belarus’ reinstatement, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears.

Tuesday’s meeting decided that Kristian Vigenin, a Bulgarian member of the European Parliament, will co-preside over Euronest together with the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Borys Tarasyuk.

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, who attended the event, said Euronest will pass its decisions by a two-thirds majority of votes.

Buzek also said Euronest could assist in forging dialog between Azerbaijan and Armenia on their long-standing conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

First Vice-Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov, who headed Azerbaijan’s delegation at the meeting, said cooperation with the EU was pivotal for his country, voicing hope that Eastern Partnership would take this cooperation to a higher level.

Asgarov also said dialog with the EU was important. "I hope that Euronest will justify expectations in this area and will pave the way for [the participating countries’] integration into the European family... Azerbaijan sees its future within Europe."

The vice-speaker also called for heeding attention to protracted conflicts as part of the newly established assembly.

"Azerbaijan believes that Euronest will stay focused on the settlement of the existing conflicts within the frames of the territorial integrity of countries. We believe that this issue should be one of the EU’s key interests."