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Sabina Mammadli

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The Armenian prime minister's denial of the forcible displacement of Azerbaijanis from their lands in the territory of now-day Armenia indicates his intention to justify the systematic and purposeful policy of ethnic cleansing by his country for decades, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ayxan Hajizada said.

Commenting on Pashinyan’s claims against Azerbaijan, Hajizada stressed that they are completely groundless and grossly distort historical facts, which is another blow to the process of establishing peace in the region, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

“The anti-Azerbaijani campaign carried out by Pashinyan, reneging on the promises and commitments made on various international platforms, including the rhetoric that undermines the negotiations on the peace agreement and the efforts of international mediators, does not promise any good future for Armenia. The physical destruction of the peaceful Azerbaijanis living in the territory of Armenia, the bloody massacres committed against them, and the forced relocation of the population through threats is a historical fact,” the spokesperson added.

The official brought to the attention the fact that there are currently no traces of Azerbaijanis in Armenia, who once were the majority of the population.

He also underlined that the denial of the right of Azerbaijanis to return to their lands in a safe manner, the presentation of the demand for these rights as a "territorial claim" is an indication of Armenia’s policy of protecting the "mono-ethnic state title based on ethnic cleansing".

Hajizada also remarked that Pashinyan’s attempt to intervene in the dialogue with Armenian residents is unacceptable. He also underlined that all these factors of Armenia’s intervention into Azerbaijan’s internal affairs indicate that the country has not given up its policy of aggression under the guise of "people’s right for self-determination”.

The official then called on the Armenian premier to understand that the rights of the Armenian residents of the Karabakh region can never prevail over the rights of the Azerbaijani population of the region, and Azerbaijan will only apply an equal approach to the different ethnicities living in its territory.

The spokesperson also noted that Armenia, which has not complied with any agreements and commitments so far, accuses Azerbaijan of denying imaginary agreements, and claims that Azerbaijan will intensify the situation in the border regions. He added that such actions are only a step aimed at covering up Armenia's possible military provocations.

“The fact that the Armenian side, which last refused to negotiate a peace agreement in December of last year, opposes the mediation efforts of the European Union with various excuses, demonstrates that it has not given up the practice of creating obstacles to negotiations during the 30-year-old occupation period,” Hajizada pointed out.

Moreover, the official specified that Pashinyan’s readiness to sign the peace treaty, which would only be based on Armenia’s proposals, ignoring the Azerbaijani ones, is another proof of his indifference to the peace process,

“These destructive activities of Armenia should be condemned by the international community and should be prevented,” the official finalized.

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