Pope Francis' statement calls to end illegal occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia
The call for peace in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh in the statement of Pope Francis’ in Yerevan calls to end Armenia’s illegal occupation of Azerbaijani territories, complete withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijani territories, including from Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, as well as to return of Azerbaijani IDPs and refugees, who got subjected to bloody ethnic cleansing, to their native lands, Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesperson of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, said in a statement June 27.
Pope Francis’ call for peace exactly in Armenia shows that this call’s recipient is Yerevan itself, noted Hajiyev.
“We’d like to hope that official Yerevan will draw conclusions from Pope’s call for peace and will stop its aggressive and occupational policy soon,” added the spokesperson.
Pope Francis’ three-day visit to Armenia ended June 26.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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