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Austrian lawmaker Stefan Schennach addressed the PACE current affairs debate on “Military hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia, including strikes against settlements and civilian infrastructures” on Monday. His full statement is provided below.

"Thank you very much, Madam President.

Our President of the Assembly said today at the opening: the delegations of Azerbaijan and Armenia should use this week to engage in positive exchanges and talks. I would like to fully agree with Mr Tiny KOX on this. We have to be careful; we have here in a lightning development again the death of people in warlike clashes, this time not in Nagorno-Karabakh, but carried by Azerbaijan to Armenian territory, near the towns of Goris, Sotk and Djermuk. And both sides are using heavy weapons. There is a lot of information on the way now where I would warn-because there is a lot of propaganda here as well.

What we need is a return to a cease-fire. We certainly have a situation here that was triggered by the Ukraine war, and in the shadow of the Ukraine war. We need to bring about a ceasefire. Russia certainly doesn't have the power right now because, after all, Russia brokered the last ceasefire. We can't do that now. That means now that the European Union and the Council of Europe, are very strong here, and other international organizations, like Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, have to step in here. Yes, what we need is a civilian EU mission on the borders. We also need to appeal to Türkiye to use its potential here to come to a ceasefire.

As Mr Paul GAVAN, the rapporteur has said: we still have many landmine deaths. We have to remind the Armenian side to finally give up the map of the buried landmines. Conversely, we must clearly remind Azerbaijan that the exchange of prisoners of war was agreed in the brokered ceasefire. There are still prisoners of war, Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan; they also have to go back home. Any ceasefire agreement is not bad.

What is important - I have been a rapporteur now for seven years for Azerbaijan, and in every official talk in Azerbaijan, you are in seconds or minutes to the trauma of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. What is important is not only a ceasefire but disarmament in the minds. Enemies cannot live next to each other. One must come to a common neighbourly relationship and hatred must disappear from school curricula. This is the only way to create a prosperous future between neighbours."