Azernews.Az

BAKU – A diplomatic row has emerged between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the US state of New York, Azerbaijani representatives told the United Nations.

Azerbaijan's ambassador to the UN, Agshin Mehdiyev, said in a letter to the UN secretary general that Armenia, committing another provocation, violated the UN by-laws, the core principles of international law and the requirements of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.

"On September 27 Armenia’s permanent representation at the UN hoisted two flags in front of the office in New York, with one being the Armenian flag, while the other being a rag called the flag of the self-proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh Republic, which Armenia illegally established in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. As a result of urgent action taken by the Azerbaijani side, the Armenian representation immediately withdrew the separatists’ ‘flag’ and hid its traces."

The ambassador’s letter noted that the move by Yerevan indicates that it is not interested in a solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict on the basis of international law.

The message expressed Baku’s terse protest at this attempt to support the separatist entity, whose existence is a product of aggression and ethnic discrimination.

"Azerbaijan thereby believes that it would be unacceptable and counter to international principles to turn a blind eye to Armenia’s illegal actions, treat equally the aggressor and its victim and to tolerate actions targeting Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Though the separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh declared so-called independence at the time of the Soviet collapse in 1991, this "independence" has not been recognized by the world community.