Azernews.Az

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has accused the United Nations of "supporting only one of the conflicting sides" in its March resolution that condemned his country`s long-standing aggression against neighboring Azerbaijan.
"The UN General Assembly`s Resolution on the Situation in the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan is a disservice," he claimed while addressing the 63rd UN GA session last week. "Conflicts are not resolved by casting votes at various functions."
The resolution, adopted on March 14, called for a swift, full and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories. It reasserted the inalienable right of the population evicted from the occupied land to return home. Thirty-nine countries voted to adopt the resolution, while seven opposed the initiative, including the United States, Russia and France, the three countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group that is brokering a settlement to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict.
Further, Sarkisian expressed concern over Azerbaijan`s rising military spending.
"If a given country is proud of increasing its military budget several times over a short period, breaches in the armament quota set forth in international agreements, and threatens another country with war, a due response should be issued," he maintained.
Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory since the early 1990s. As a result of this aggression, the separatist regime in the occupied Upper Garabagh region proclaimed so-called independence in 1991. The declaration of "independence," which is, itself, a blatant violation of international law, has not been recognized by any country, to date.
Sarkisian continued, noting that the struggle for self-determination today results in the destruction of nations.
"Talk of self-determination, which is turning into a life-or-death struggle, is tantamount to suicide, nowadays. People`s struggle to assert this right, which is one of the founding principles of international law, causes deportations, ethnic cleansing and genocide. I am confident that this can`t go on like this," he told the UN.
Sarkisian said that, nonetheless, this principle is often applied in settling conflicts. However, when a given nation asserts this inalienable right, "everyone unanimously calls this an exclusive case," he said, hinting at the recent recognition of Kosovo`s independence.
Further, Sarkisian claimed that the drive for self-determination of "Upper Garabagh`s people" was an example of these endeavors. He alleged that Yerevan continues holding talks with Azerbaijan as part of its goal to achieve recognition of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic, which he maintained has been essentially independent for about 20 years.
"The Garabagh people`s attempt at self-determination by legal means had sparked a ruthless war, and Garabagh Armenians have, for many years, faced the threat of annihilation," the aggressor country`s leader said.