Azernews.Az

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that resolution of Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh must start with a withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the territories occupied since the 1990s war.

Mammadyarov said the Armenian troops are to be pulled out "within the fixed time-table", and the withdrawal is to be followed by the restoration of communications and return of Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes. Further, suitable conditions should be created for a peaceful co-existence of Azerbaijanis and Armenians in the Nagorno Karabakh region within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, Mammadyarov said.

According to him, this step-by-step approach, which has been proposed by the OSCE mediators and supported by the entire international community, except, the leadership of Armenia, can bring durable peace and stability to the region.

About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, has been under the occupation of Armenian armed forces since a fragile ceasefire was signed in 1994 following the lengthy war that displaced up to a million Azerbaijanis. Peace talks, brokered by US, Russian and French mediators, have been largely fruitless so far. Azerbaijani leaders have repeatedly warned that the Armenian-controlled territories will be taken back by force if the long-running peace talks yield no results.

Mammadyarov welcomed the adoption at the session of the UN General Assembly of a resolution on strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of conflicts.

"In this document, the General Assembly reiterated that all member states should strictly adhere to their obligations as laid down in the UN Charter and reaffirmed, inter alia, the commitment to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all states.

"Azerbaijan looks forward to the relevant guidance for more effective mediation, as it was indicated in the resolution, and we are ready to actively contribute to its elaboration," Mammadyarov said.

The minister noted that unfortunately, not all countries approach responsibly to their international obligations and comply with the generally accepted norms and principles of international law.

"For almost two decades we have been facing the flagrant violation of the UN Charter and other documents of international law by Armenia, which perpetrated aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan," Mammadyarov said. "As a result of this aggression, almost 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan continues to remain under occupation and about 1 million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs are unable to return to their homes."

Mammadyarov reminded that in 1993, the UN Security Council adopted four resolutions urging an immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from all occupied Azerbaijani territories and reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and inviolability of its internationally recognized borders. The same appeals were made by other international organizations.

"Unfortunately, Armenia continues to ignore the calls of the international community," Mammadyarov said.

He said what is even more worrisome is that, instead of preparing its people for peace, prosperous and stable future in friendship and cooperation with neighboring countries, Armenia’s leadership continues to publicly incite the future generations to new wars, violence and aggression and propagates the ideas of animosity and hatred towards not only Azerbaijan but also other peoples of the region.

Mammadyarov said violations of law in the occupied territories, including settlement of ethnic Armenians as well as destruction and appropriation of historical and cultural heritage, are of serious concern as well.

"Such activities serve to further consolidation of the current status quo of the occupation, securing the results of ethnic cleansing and colonization of the seized lands, as well as seriously hamper the prospects of the conflict resolution," Mammadyarov said. "Earlier in this hall we witnessed a very aggressive and unconstructive statement by the Armenian president. He openly confirmed this destructive policy of Armenia."

The Field Assessment Mission (FAM), conducted by the mediating OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairs last October in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, stated that the status quo of the occupation is unacceptable and urged Armenia to put an end to its illegal practices in these territories, he said.

"As a country suffering from the occupation of its territories and the forcible displacement of hundreds of thousands of its citizens, Azerbaijan is the most interested party in the soonest negotiated settlement of the conflict. Our position is known well to the international community and is based on strict adherence to the norms and principles of international law, according to which the acquisition of territory by force is inadmissible and must be rejected resolutely and unconditionally," Mammadyarov told the UN.

According to Mammadyarov, it is absolutely illogical when the leadership of Armenia, which has perpetrated ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijani population not only in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, but also its own territory, is trying to apply the principle of self-determination of nations. He said it is obvious that one cannot expel people from their homes on ethnic grounds and, at the same time, speak about self-determination for those who still live in that territory.

"Azerbaijan recognizes that the right of nations to self-determination can be exercised strictly in compliance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and with the relevant norms of international law, including those relating to territorial integrity of states, as it is enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act," Mammadyarov added.

He said Azerbaijan is still "interested, motivated and patient" in this challenging and sensitive process of peace talks.

"We believe that the international community will convince the Armenian side to respect the generally accepted norms and principles of international law and stop abusing the right of Azerbaijanis to live in their own territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region. In return, we are ready to guarantee the highest level of self-rule for this region within the Republic of Azerbaijan," Mammadyarov added.

Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno Karabakh, backed by Armenia, declared so-called independence in 1991, which has not been recognized by the international community.