Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

Armenia's attempt to use the European Court for political purposes, has turned against itself, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on September 30.

The ministry noted that on 29 September 2020, in response to a request lodged by the government of Armenia, the European Court of Human Rights adopted a relevant ruling, in accordance with Rule 39 of the Rules of Court. In its ruling, the European Court called upon both Armenia and Azerbaijan to refrain from taking any measures which might entail breaches of the Convention rights of the civilian population, the ministry added.

“Thus, Armenia's attempt to use the European Court - a legal tool - for political purposes, turned against itself. Indeed, while taking this ruling, the European Court confirmed its conclusion reached in the 2015 judgment in the Chiragov and Others v. Armenia that Armenia is responsible for the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and human rights violations on these territories. This is another legal acknowledgment of the continuing occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia and of the fact that the current conflict is going on between Armenia and Azerbaijan."This is another legal acknowledgement of the continuing occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia and of the fact that the current conflict is going on between Armenia and Azerbaijan," the ministry emphasized.

The ministry also highlighted that during the present hostilities, Armenian military units have been shelling Azerbaijani towns and villages, including civilian population and numerous civilian objects, which resulted, so far, in the death of at least 12 and injuries of dozens of civilians and irreparable damage to private and public properties.

"Consequently, the European Court’s decision of 29 September 2020 means a call on Armenia to put an end to violent actions against human rights and the international humanitarian law committed on the Azerbaijani land."

The ministry also stated that in addition, the European Court requested Armenia to inform it, as soon as possible, of the measures taken to comply with its obligations.

It should be noted that, during the counter-offensive launched in response to the act of aggression committed by Armenia on 27 September 2020, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan fully and strictly observe the international humanitarian law, and do not target in any form the civilian population and civilian objects. The Government of Azerbaijan will provide the European Court with the relevant information on the measures taken to comply with its international obligations, in line with the Court’s ruling.

Armenian armed forces launched a large-scale operation in the front-line zone on September 27 at 6 am, shelling the positions of the Azerbaijani army from large-calibre weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibres.

Azerbaijan launched a counter-offensive operation along the entire front to suppress the combat activity of the Armenian armed forces and ensure the safety of the civilian population. Azerbaijan liberated Garakhanbeyli, Garvend, Kend Horadiz, Yukhari Abdulrahmanli villages of Fizuli district, Boyuk Marjanli, and Nuzgar villages of Jabrayil district as well as strategically-important Murov height and destroyed the positions of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of the Agdere district and Murovdag.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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