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Azerbaijani MFA: Armenia must recognize that occupation of Azerbaijani lands conditions Yerevan's strategic failure

21 February 2018 12:08 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijani MFA: Armenia must recognize that occupation of Azerbaijani lands conditions Yerevan's strategic failure

By Rashid Shirinov

Armenia's military dictatorship regime must recognize that today's strategic failure of Armenia is conditioned by aggressive Armenian separatism, which began in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and the military occupation of Azerbaijani territories, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend on February 20.

He made the remarks commenting on the recent congratulatory message of the Armenian president to the separatist regime created in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

"The Armenian president's proudly quoting the international terrorist, member of the Armenian terrorist organization ASALA Monte Melkonian, who participated in murder of dozens of innocent people in terrorist attacks, in the congratulatory message addressed to the illegal regime proves the true essence of the Armenian authorities and the aggressive separatist movement that began in the late 1980s in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan," Hajiyev noted.

The spokesman added that the Armenian president, who started as a field commander together with the terrorist Monte Melkonyan and still adheres to this thinking, presents terror against Azerbaijan, military aggression, bloody ethnic cleansing, war crimes and criminal acts against humanity as "a success".

"The temporary and tactical occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia, which caused Armenia's geopolitical, geo-economic isolation and strategic defeat, left it aside from regional projects, and this exhausts the political, military, economic, social and demographic resources of that country," Hajiyev noted, adding that Armenia also put its existence as a sovereign state under a serious question.

The spokesman noted that excluding Armenia, the entire international community recognizes and supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan within the internationally recognized borders.

"This position is enshrined in the well-known resolutions of the UN Security Council, statements, resolutions and decisions of the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Council of Europe, the European Union, NATO, the Non-Aligned Movement and other international organizations as well as in statements of other states and bilateral documents," Hajiyev added. The spokesman noted that Armenia’s attempts to legitimize the military occupation of Azerbaijani territories and present it as the right to self-determination failed.

The international community didn’t recognize and will never recognize the consequences of the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia through military aggression with the use of force, he said.

"The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and the entire international community consider the current status quo based on aggression unacceptable and require its change. Changing the status quo primarily involves elimination of the fact of aggression," Hajiyev noted.

The spokesman said that the political and legal bases for a phased settlement of the conflict are known to the entire international community – they include withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan within the internationally recognized borders, the return of Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons, including the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh region, to their native lands and the joint residence of the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh region within Azerbaijan’s borders. This is based on the norms and principles of international law, well-known resolutions of the UN Security Council and the Helsinki Final Act, Hajiyev said.

“As a result of exposure of Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan, the predatory policy and the policy of ethnic cleansing, as well as terror, military and criminal acts committed at the state level in Armenia and in the occupied territories against the peaceful Azerbaijani population, Armenian lies were demonstrated and moral principles and image of Armenia as a state were thoroughly undermined at the international level,” the spokesman said.

He added that clear opinion was formed in the international community about the aggressive policy of Armenia and the Armenian lie. “The sooner the Armenian leadership understands this reality and puts an end to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, the sooner peace and stability will be restored in the region, and the population of Armenia will be able to use the opportunities of regional cooperation,” Hajiyev concluded.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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