Azernews.Az

By Rasana Gasimova

Participants of the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement member countries have voiced support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity in the second and final day of the summit held on October 25-26.

This support was expressed in the final document adopted on October 26, summarizing all the main topics discussed in Baku. For the first time, the document adopted by the participants included a new important paragraph. In this paragraph, the heads of state and government emphasized that it’s inadmissible to occupy territories by force and confirmed that none of the states adopting the document will recognize the legitimacy of the situation arising from the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories, and will not provide any assistance in maintaining such a situation, including economic activity in those territories. The term “invader” was used in the document. This means that Armenia is recognized as an invader by 120 countries.

"We, the heads of state and government express our strong support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and our solidarity with Azerbaijan's efforts to restore its territorial integrity,” the document reads.

In the adopted document, the heads of state and government express regret that the conflict has not yet been resolved despite UN Security Council resolutions.

Upon Azerbaijan’s initiative, the heads of state and government reaffirmed in the document their responsibility in promoting ways to resolve the issues of ensuring, protecting, realizing and restoring the rights of internally displaced persons, including their safe return to their homeland.

The document also condemns any form of heroization of Nazi and neo-Nazi ideology and organizations, including the Waffen-SS military units, their former members, the erection of monuments, public events in their honor, and the glorification of participants of national liberation struggle. In fact, this paragraph declares international support for the theses voiced by President Ilham Aliyev at the CIS summit in Ashgabat with regards to the heroization of Garegin Nzhdeh in Armenia.

In the final document, the heads of state and government of the member states welcome the organization of the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Summit on the initiative of Azerbaijan for the first time on October 24-25 and support the establishment of Youth Network that enables the youth of Member States to exchange ideas on current challenges that they face in ensuring their sustainable progress.”

In addition, the heads of state and government praised the contribution of Baku Process, introduced by Azerbaijan in 2008 as an important global platform for promoting intercultural dialogue among civilizations, calling it an important national, regional and global initiative.

The heads of state and government highly appreciated the Azerbaijan’s adherence to the fundamental principles of the Movement, including the ideas and purposes reflected in the Bandung principles, as well as the norms and principles of international law as reflected in the UN Charter.

They also welcomed the Azerbaijan's tireless efforts towards the establishment of a peaceful and prosperous world based on the promotion of multilateralism, justice and equality and expressed strong support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as well as solidarity for its efforts to restore territorial integrity.

The participants also expressed their deep gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev, the people and government of Azerbaijan for their high hospitality during the 18th Summit held in Baku. They also congratulated Ilham Aliyev on the leadership he has demonstrated.

Four other documents were adopted at the summit. These are Baku Final Act, Baku Political Declaration, the Palestinian Declaration and the document of gratitude and solidarity to the government and people of Azerbaijan.

High-level officials of the Non-Aligned Movement countries, leaders and representatives of international organizations, special guests, and diplomats took part in the debates that took place during the second working day of the Summit.

Speakers touched upon crises of the world, regional conflicts and ways to solve them, necessary measures to eliminate occupation, poverty, religious and racial discrimination, the importance of preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty of countries, and combating climate change.

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