Turkish expert: Vandalism committed in Khojaly is real genocide against peaceful Azerbaijanis
By Rashid Shirinov
Armenia, over the years, continues its aggressive policy against Azerbaijan, and undoubtedly, the bloody act of vandalism committed in Khojaly is a real genocide against peaceful Azerbaijani citizens.
Turkish political scientist Sardar Kaya made the remarks in his interview with Day.Az on February 26.
He noted that Armenia continues to pursue an aggressive policy against Azerbaijan by keeping 20 percent of its territories under occupation and daily violating the ceasefire on the frontline.
“By such destructive actions, the leadership of Armenia demonstrates to the world its unwillingness to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through negotiations, which is the most acceptable way of solving this long-standing problem,” Kaya said.
The expert added that various international reports confirm that the war crimes of Armenia seriously violate the Geneva Conventions and the international law.
“This fact should seriously concern the ruling regime of Armenia. I believe that the perpetrators of this terrible tragedy must be held accountable before an international court for their atrocities in Khojali, Karabakh, Sumgayit, and suffer due punishment in accordance with the laws of justice,” Kaya said, adding that the unresolved Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict poses a serious threat to the region and the world.
The expert added that Turkey fully supports Azerbaijan in the issue of restoring the territorial integrity of the country and considers it necessary for Armenia to implement four UN Security Council resolutions demanding the unconditional withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.
Azerbaijan and Armenia, for over two decades, have been locked in a conflict which emerged over Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.
While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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