MFA: Negotiating with Armenia for over 25 years is Azerbaijan's biggest concession
By Rashid Shirinov
Holding negotiations with Armenia for more than 25 years is the biggest concession of Azerbaijan, Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev said on May 22.
He was commenting on the statement of the Armenian side saying that the direct participation of the illegal regime established in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in the negotiations would allegedly allow ensuring sustainable peace.
Hajiyev noted that for the international community, such frivolous and unfounded statements of Armenia once again prove that Armenia is pursuing a destructive policy and is engaged in populism and political adventure in the process of the conflict settlement.
“In gross violation of the Paragraph 2(4) of the UN Charter, Armenia used force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and occupied Azerbaijani territories. In March 1992, the Minsk Group was established by the decision of the Helsinki Council of Ministers. Armenia and Azerbaijan were recognized as parties to the conflict, and the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of the Nagorno-Karabakh region – as the interested sides,” the spokesman mentioned.
Hajiyev added that the European Court of Human Rights has rightly put an end to Armenia's prolonged denial of the illegal occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and its denial of responsibility for the military presence in those lands.
“In the case of “Chiragov and others v. Armenia” the European Court of Human Rights confirmed that from the very beginning of the conflict, Armenia, using its military presence and military means and experience, participated in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, its military support was and is a decisive factor in the seizure of these territories and control over them,” the spokesman said.
He added that Armenia – which is responsible for the ongoing aggression against Azerbaijan and the military occupation of internationally recognized territories, as well as the presence of the Armenian armed forces in the occupied Azerbaijani territories and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani citizens from these lands – bears international responsibility for the violation of international law.
“Armenia, which bears international legal responsibility for the use of force against Azerbaijan and the military occupation of its territories, is the party to the conflict. And the fact that Azerbaijan has been negotiating with the invader Armenia for more than 25 years is the biggest concession to the aggressor country,” Hajiyev said.
The spokesman emphasized that termination of the policy of occupation and ethnic cleansing and withdrawal of troops from the occupied Azerbaijani lands in accordance with the requirements of the UN Security Council resolutions will ensure peace and security in the region.
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.
---
Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz