Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Remarks made by Shavarsh Kocharyan put Yerevan in a ridiculous position, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev said on November 13, commenting on the Armenian deputy foreign minister's statements.

"The Armenian government, which, thanks to its "smart" policy led the country into a difficult and disastrous state, has no moral right to lecture other countries, especially Azerbaijan," Abdullayev said.

Kocharyan said de jure non-recognition of Karabakh doesn't hamper equitable relationship with Armenia.

He said during the hearing in the parliament that Armenia considers de jure recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh inexpedient and that Armenia recognized de facto the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" long ago .

Abdullayev said, apparently, the Armenian side has decided that it has the right to teach the OSCE Minsk Group good sense and point out to this group, what direction it should direct its activities.

"I think that Yerevan should recover from amnesia and remember that the head of the co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, not just once, clearly and unambiguously made statements about the inadmissibility of the status quo, that is, in fact, is recognition by the international community the fact of occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia," Abdullayev said.

Kocharyan blamed Azerbaijan for the stagnation in talks spearheaded by the OSCE Minsk Group.

Abdullayev further focused on the fact that the main goal of the Minsk Group is to promote the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, based on the norms and principles of international law in order to eliminate the consequences of aggression and military occupation, and said Azerbaijan, of course, is committed to this process.

According to Abdullayev, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2008 signed the Moscow Declaration, which also states that the conflict should be resolved on the basis of the principles and norms of international law as well as the resolutions and documents adopted by international organizations.

"The "famous professor" should stop viewing the South Caucasus as a laboratory for experimentation. The question is the cessation of military occupation of one country by another state. It is enough to dramatize itself as an innocent lamb. The international community has already given the appropriate political and legal assessment of this aggression," Abdullayev said.

Abdullayev said that realizing the unacceptability of recognizing the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh for the international community, Armenia deliberately resorts to the political speculations and is engaged in self-deception.

He said such an approach is damaging the peace process and the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group.

"The occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent regions are internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan and the basis of the negotiation process is the restoration of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country over these territories," 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 brutal war in the early 1990s.

Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.