Aurelia Grigoriu says Baku determined to defend territories by any means
Azerbaijan by its successful response to the aggressive provocations of the Armenian armed forces has demonstrated the technical and moral advantages of its army to the whole world, Aurelia Grigoriu, the chairperson of the Public Chamber of Moldova, told Trend on April 14.
On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.
Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.
"Azerbaijan demonstrated its determination to defend its territorial integrity by all means within the framework of international law," said Grigoriu.
She said that no preservation of the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be considered, as only those who are not interested in a peaceful resolution of this conflict can support such a status.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
"The international community, if it sincerely wants to prevent the bloodshed is now obliged to support Azerbaijan, a country suffering from aggression, and force Armenia to finally comply with the requirements of the four resolutions of the UN Security Council, as well as other documents of authoritative international structures on unquestioned withdrawal from the occupied Azerbaijani territories," Grigoriu said.
"Only after the liberation of Azerbaijan's seven occupied districts and the Nagorno-Karabakh region, after the return of IDPs to their homes will it be possible to proceed to the next stage of settlement of the conflict in a peaceful way - addressing the issue of self-determination if this issue is topical," she said.
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