MFA: Armenia responsible for Azerbaijani border guards' deaths
By Akbar Mammadov
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva has said that Armenia is responsible for the death of Azerbaijani border guards who were protecting the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan over the past few weeks.
Abdullayeva also said that Armenian troops’ presence in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding districts is the main source of threat to the regional security.
“We reiterate to the Armenian side that the current status quo created by the use of force and ethnic cleansing is inconsistent with the notion of security. The occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories and the presence of the Armenian armed forces in these areas are the main sources of threat to the security of our country,” Leyla Abdullayeva stressed.
Abdullayeva noted that Azerbaijan has always stood for the indivisibility and universality of the notion of security.
“The withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as well as the co-existence of Azerbaijani and Armenian population of the region in a peaceful environment and accordance with the rule of law, the guarantee of the joint security, are conditions that ensure the emergence of the trust and rapprochement for the benefit of the region,” added Leyla Abdullayeva.
Abdullayeva was answering a question regarding the statement made by the Armenian Foreign Ministry on March 10, in which Azerbaijan was accused of aggravation of the situation on the state border with Armenia and a threat to peace and security in the region.
"First of all, let's clarify who makes such statements? These statements are made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the aggressor country that occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions of Azerbaijan and carried out bloody ethnic cleansing of the Azerbaijanis living in these territories. These statements are made by the Republic of Armenia, which is responsible for the killings, in recent weeks, of the Azerbaijani border guards protecting the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan," Abdullayeva said.
She noted that the Armenian side should correctly perceive the current reality, and implement demands of the international community, as well as the UN Security Council and other international organizations’ resolutions on the complete, immediate and unconditional discharge of the occupied territories, and providing the return of the local Azerbaijani people to their homes.
“No one doubts that Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity within the limits of justice and internationally recognized borders,” Leyla Abdullayeva emphasized.
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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97
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