Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman has severely criticized the Armenian leader's recent remarks, saying that "to occupy the territory of another country and try to look like the head of a peace-loving country is at least not serious and cynical" in terms of respect for international law.

Elman Abdullayev was commenting on the provocative statements made by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan after a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

"Banishing indigenous people from the occupied territories which historically belonged to the Azerbaijanis first and then talking about any international recognition of these territories is an attempt to disguise the aggressive policy by cheap populism," Abdullayev told Trend news agency.

During a joint briefing after meeting President Lukashenko on May 13, Sargsyan said that "the people of Nagorno-Karabakh want international recognition of its sovereignty." He was referring to the Armenians who are running the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic in the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

Abdullayev said that the territories occupied by Armenia are Azerbaijan's native lands and have centuries-old culture and history.

"Strong Azerbaijan will return its occupied lands to the Azerbaijani people as these lands historically belong to them," Abdullayev said.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

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.

Peace negotiations are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the mediating OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.