Azernews.Az

BAKU – Head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Samad Seyidov has sent a letter to President of the PACE Mevlut Cavusoglu concerning Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s remarks over ethnic noncompliance of Azerbaijanis and Armenians.

Last month Sargsyan told journalists of the Armenian diaspora that Armenians are superior to other nations, including Azerbaijanis, and calls Azerbaijanis "a Muslim Turk nomadic tribe".

Seyidov characterized the Armenian president’s remarks as what illustrated Armenia’s "unconcealed racist ideology and religious prejudices"

"It is not the first time that Armenian high-ranking officials make statements that openly promote the outrageous ideas of ethnic differentiation, which are contrary to the fundamental principles of international law as well as to the moral and ethical principles of humanity," said Seydiov.

Seydiov pointed out that it is not the first time senior Armenian officials are making statements propagating ethnic discrimination and defying the founding principles of international law.

"Former Armenian president Robert Kocharian’s comments about ‘ethnic incompliance between Armenians and Azerbaijanis’ had caused valid discontent of the world community. Then Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Schwimmer said ‘Kocharian’s comments are nothing but a hate-filled, aggressive statement instigating war’. Then chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Peter Shider, for his part, said that since the CE was established, he had never heard the expression ‘ethnic incompliance’."

Seyidov said there was no alternative other than to put an end to the illegal occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan, to denounce Armenia`s territorial claims towards neighboring nations.

Seyidov also said he believed the PACE President will closely watch the development of the issue and take relevant measures to prevent such actions and statements, which are not acceptable for the member countries.

Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a war over the mountainous region of Nagorno Karabakh in the early 1990s which claimed some 30,000 lives. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory since then, despite UN resolutions on the unconditional pullout of its armed forces and condemnation by a number of other international organizations. One million Azerbaijanis have been displaced as a result of ethnic cleansing and Azerbaijan’s historical and cultural heritage has been significantly damaged in the occupied land. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but OSCE-brokered peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.