Baku rejects any change in Azerbaijani army positions in Karabakh
By Vafa Ismayilova
Baku has dismissed as inaccurate the Russian Defence Ministry statement on the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Farrukh village in Karabakh's Khojaly region.
In a statement published on March 27, the Azerbaijani Defence
Ministry said: "The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry regretfully
informs that some points of the statement of the Russian Defence
Ministry dated March 27, 2022, do not reflect the reality. There
have been no changes in the positions of the Azerbaijan army in
Farrukh village and on the surrounding high grounds, which are part
of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.
The information about the retreat of the Azerbaijan army units from
these positions does not reflect reality. The Azerbaijan army
completely controls the operational situation."
The ministry also rejected the Russian ministry's claims alleging the Azerbaijani truce violation and the case of injury among the Azerbaijani servicemen. It once again recalled the Russian Defence Ministry that there is no administrative-territorial unit called "Nagorno-Karabakh" on the Azerbaijani territory.
"The use of the expression 'Nagorno-Karabakh' in the statements of the Russian Defence Ministry dated March 26 and 27 is disrespectful to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is recognized and accepted by the international community, including the Russian Federation," the statement added.
The ministry recalled the Russian Defence Ministry that the first paragraph of the Declaration on Allied Interaction signed by the two countries' presidents on February 22, 2022, states that Russia and Azerbaijan establish their relations based on mutual respect for territorial integrity and inviolability of state borders, as well as non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, peaceful settlement of disputes and non-use of force or threat of force.
Furthermore, Russia and Azerbaijan join forces in the fight against and neutralization of international terrorism, extremism, and separatism, as stated in Article 18 of the Declaration, the ministry added.
"The statement of the Russian Defence Ministry also demonstrates disrespect towards the declaration signed by the President of the Russian Federation, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The [Azerbaijani] Defence Ministry reiterates that there is no village called 'Furukh' in Khojaly region of Azerbaijan. The name of the mentioned village is 'FARRUKH'. We hope that in the following statements the name of the village will be indicated correctly," the ministry added.
It should be noted Farrukh enters the administrative area of Pirlar village in Khojaly region located 16 km of Asgaran settlement and 32 km of Khankandi.
The Azerbaijani armed forces regained full control over the village, clearing it from illegal Armenian armed groups, who had to leave Azerbaijan's internationally-recognized territories in Karabakh under the ceasefire deal signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan on November 10, 2020.
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