Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his inauguration speech again tried to mislead his people and the whole world, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev said Wednesday when commenting on Sargsyan's statement that Yerevan offers peace based on human values.

"It is interesting, what does Sargsyan imply?" Abdullayev queried. "Apparently, occupation of the territory of a neighbouring country, a complete violation of international law, bloody ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Armenian forces on the territory of Azerbaijan, the Khojaly genocide when men in military uniforms now leading Armenia spared neither women nor children."

According to Abdullayev, on the basis of these facts, human values ​​are seen by the Armenian president solely in light of his own views.

Abdullayev said that today, there is neither stability nor peace in the region and the delay of the peace process by Yerevan is a blow to the prospects of regional stability, prosperity and development.

"The Armenian leadership is the only one to blame in this regard. The attempts by the internationally recognized aggressor to reproach others for its own failures look very primitive and irresponsible," he said.

Commenting on Sargsyan's remarks about a new reality in which Armenia lives, Abdullayev said Azerbaijan has directed its entire potential to the development of the region and successfully implemented the plan over several years acting as the initiator of many regional projects of global importance.

"Unfortunately, Armenia misses opportunity after opportunity to become involved in these regional processes and its leadership is the only one to blame. Economic growth as well as other components of Sargsyan's 'new reality' is impossible without participation in these projects," he said.

Abdullayev said the result of the so-called economic growth in Armenia is evident. The country is not developing and the fragile economic situation is not going to change without regional cooperation.

According to him, in the first place this near-sighted policy of Yerevan affects people who are forced to leave Armenia in search of a better life.

"The Armenian president shamelessly deceives his own people saying not a word of truth about the current reality. Lack of pragmatism of the leadership of Armenia has a very negative impact on the economy as a whole and on each citizen of Armenia in particular," Abdullayev said.

Deputy chairman of Azerbaijan`s ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party, Mubariz Gurbanli, told Trend news agency on Tuesday that Sargsyan's statements are nothing but a bluff.

"He wants to convince himself and others that if Azerbaijan decides to resort to a military solution of the conflict, Armenia supposedly would be able to respond to that. However, we know that the chances of Armenia to confront Azerbaijan one-on-one are equal to zero," Gurbanli said, adding that Armenia uses such rhetoric taking advantage of the patronage of certain forces.

According to Gurbanli, sooner or later such statements will bring about severe consequences for Armenia.

"This impact can be seen even now. If you compare Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is obvious that Azerbaijan is far ahead of it in all areas," he noted.

Despite this statement by Sargsyan, Azerbaijan supports a negotiated solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and will consistently continue following this path, Gurbanli said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.

A precarious cease-fire was signed in 1994. However, units of the Armenian armed forces commit armistice breaches on the frontline almost every day.