Azerbaijan rules out any further status for its Karabakh region
By Vafa Ismayilova
Baku has said that Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, ruling out any further status for the region, the Foreign Ministry reported on September 11.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva made the remarks to comment on a statement by the U.S. ambassador to Armenia that "we do not believe that the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh has been resolved. This issue is on the agenda of the Minsk Group".
"Such a statement by the U.S. ambassador is unacceptable. The Karabakh conflict is a thing of the past, Azerbaijan ensured its territorial integrity, and the economic regions of East Zangazur and Karabakh were created by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan dated July 7, 2021. These territories are an integral part of Azerbaijan and there can be no question of any status," she said.
Abdullayeva noted that such a statement by the U.S. official in the light of new regional realities, including the ability to normalize relations based on the international law principles followed by the signing of the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, serves to exacerbate the situation and create unreasonable expectations from the opposite side.
"While the further activities of the OSCE Minsk Group are being discussed, such a statement by the representative of the co-chair country undermines the future activities of the Minsk Group," the spokesperson said.
On November 10, 2020, Baku and Yerevan signed a Moscow-brokered deal that brought an end to 44 days of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.
On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement aims to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.
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