Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

MP Soltan Mammadov has said that Azerbaijan is ready to use all international platforms for establishing regional peace, Trend reported on February 22.

Mammadov made the remarks during a meeting of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Yerevan.

“There is no more conflict and Azerbaijan has created new realities in the region, which are supported by Europe… I am glad that the international organizations stand for partnership and cooperation in the region. We are ready to use all international platforms to establish peace in the region,” Mammadov stressed.

He added that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Karabakh conflict was resolved in accordance with international law and within Azerbaijan's internationally recognized borders and emphasizing the country's just position.

“We don't want and never wanted war. We have been waiting for the peaceful settlement of the conflict for more than 30 years. We have always followed the UN resolutions, which clearly determine the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. We stand for peace, cooperation and friendship,” Mammadov added.

The MP also touched upon Yerevan's baseless allegations on Armenia's "cultural heritage" in the Azerbaijani lands liberated from occupation following the 44-day war in 2020.

In response to an Armenian participant’s “cultural heritage” allegations, Mammadov stressed that Azerbaijan had been recognized as a multicultural country by the international community.

“Many national minorities live in Azerbaijan. About 30,000 Armenian people live in Azerbaijan but there is not a single Azerbaijani in Armenia. As for cultural heritage, I would like to say that 64 out of 67 mosques in Karabakh region were razed to the ground. This is the fact,” Mammadov stressed.

“We have tried to involve UNESCO in monitoring and assessing the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan in this region for 30 years, but this did not happen. Now we expect the international community to independently assess and inform the international community about the results,” he added.

Commenting on the problem of Armenian detainees, the MP noted that all of them were handed over to Armenia.

“I would like to bring to your attention that all detainees were returned to Armenia. After the end of the conflict, Azerbaijan announced its readiness to delimit and demarcate the border with Armenia. The restoration of communications between the two countries will bring peace and security to the region. As for the claims related to 'cultural heritage', Azerbaijan is open for international monitoring and evaluation,” Mammadov stressed.

He recalled that about 4,000 Azerbaijanis went missing during the first Karabakh war (1988-1994) and Armenia had provided no information about their fate.

Furthermore, Azerbaijani MP Tahir Mirkishili, who is also attending the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Committee’s meeting in Yerevan, also underlined that the Karabakh conflict is over, and there are no more hostilities.

“The conflict has been settled. We don’t want conflict. We don’t want to face either revanchism or threats. Azerbaijan is a strong state. We are ready to respond to any revanchist forces in the future. The conflict is in the past and we must look to the future. Now there are good opportunities for cooperation in the region, and we must use them. Using these opportunities, we must build a better future for our peoples,” the MP underlined.

“One such opportunity is the '3+3' format. This is a new format, which was announced by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Using this format, we can achieve lasting peace and economic development in the region," Mirkishili added.

He stated that Azerbaijan is against the conflict, which caused tremendous regional problems.

"I was born in Karabakh. If you go there, you will see the state of my house. If you go to the liberated territories [which were liberated from Armenian occupation in the 2020 second Karabakh war], you’ll see a lot of ruins there. If you go to Aghdam, you’ll see that it has turned into 'Hiroshima' of the Caucasus. During the first Karabakh war, we lost about 20,000 people. Nothing is known about the fate of about 4,000 people,” he stressed.

The Azerbaijani MPs are visiting Yerevan to attend meetings of the committees of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, which is being held on February 22.

They will express Azerbaijan's position on issues on the agenda of the meetings.

Protests continue in Yerevan outside the building where the Euronest meeting is being held. The protesters are dissatisfied with the fact that two Azerbaijani deputies arrived in Yerevan.

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