(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Sabina Mammadli
Azerbaijan is determined to provide its citizens of Armenian
origin with the same rights and freedoms as all the citizens of the
country, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said, addressing the
29th session of the OSCE Ministerial Council.
“Azerbaijan is resolute to re-integrate its citizens of Armenian
origin residing in post-conflict territories into its political,
social, and economic space, guaranteeing the same rights and
freedoms as all the citizens of Azerbaijan,” the minister said.
Bayramov noted that Azerbaijan's constitution provides a solid
legal framework in this regard, adding that increased dialogue and
contacts over the past months between central Azerbaijani
authorities and local ethnic Armenian residents need to be
encouraged and sustained.
Talking about the return to Karabakh, the foreign minister
stressed that enabling hundreds of thousands of IDPs to return to
their homes in safety and dignity, and ensuring peaceful life in
the post-conflict territories, are the absolute priority for the
government of Azerbaijan. He emphasized that the first group of
families have recently returned to the Zangilan District's Aghali
village, which was rebuilt based on a“smart village” concept.
OSCE's mission to Armenia
Speaking about OSCE's decision to send a mission to Armenia,
Bayramov stated that sending a so-called“needs assessment mission”
to Armenia without consensus is a blatant violation of mandates
adopted by the collective will of all participating states.
He stressed that during Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the Forum
for Security Cooperation, the country was guided by a strong belief
that adherence to the fundamental norms, principles, and
commitments enshrined in the core OSCE documents, starting from the
Helsinki Final Act, in particular, respect for sovereignty,
territorial integrity and inviolability of frontiers of states,
must remain the bedrock of security and stability, as well as the
basis for cooperation within the OSCE.
“The principle of consensus-based decision-making is clearly
reflected in all major OSCE decisions. For years, Azerbaijan
suffered from the misuse of consensus within the organization.
Nevertheless, we always advocated for strict adherence to the
letter and spirit of cooperative security, firmly underpinning the
OSCE and its conflict cycle toolbox,” the minister noted.
He emphasized that the failure to act upon the fact that all
OSCE institutions, established as common assets for all
participating states, undermines confidence.
He noted that Azerbaijan calls upon these institutions to
rectify the gross violation of their mandates.
Similarly, the minister stressed that at a time, when both sides
have a real chance to finally move towards sustainable peace, it is
essential for the international community, including the OSCE, to
persuade Armenia to abandon its attempts to undermine the
normalization process.
“Armenia should reciprocate on the constructive offer of
Azerbaijan and seize the historic window of opportunity to
normalize its relations with Azerbaijan and other neighboring
countries. This will pave the way towards peace, security, and
cooperation in the region,” he added.
Mine pollution
Moreover, the foreign minister reported that the contamination
of liberated territories with mines laid by Armenia on a massive
scale is the major impediment to the reconstruction efforts and the
return of IDPs.
“Sadly, after the signing of the trilateral statement in
November 2020, 268 persons have become mine victims. 45 persons,
including 35 civilians, were killed. Recently, 350 landmines were
detected in the territory of Azerbaijan. All of them were produced
in Armenia in 2021. In total, 2,728 landmines, made in Armenia in
2021, have been found in sovereign territories of Azerbaijan. These
mines were transferred through the Lachin road. This is a blatant
abuse of this road, which was envisaged for humanitarian purposes
only,” the official shared.
Bayramov pointed out that the commander of the Russian
peacekeeping force and the leadership of the Joint Turkish-Russian
Monitoring Center, as well as foreign military attaches accredited
in Azerbaijan, visited this area and inspected the minefield in
question.
Bayramov emphasized that Armenia's failure to provide Azerbaijan
with full and accurate mine maps of all liberated territories
brings new deaths and injuries, noting that around 55 percent of
all mine incidents took place in areas, with respect to which no
minefield record was shared by Armenia.
Post-conflict period
During his speech, Bayramov underlined that along with
large-scale post-conflict recovery, reconstruction, and
reintegration work, Azerbaijan has also initiated the process of
normalizing interstate relations with Armenia.
“Despite devastating consequences and unhealed wounds of war and
occupation, Azerbaijan offered Armenia peace based on mutual
recognition and respect for each other's sovereignty and
territorial integrity within their state borders. For the past two
years my country has been demonstrating strong political will to
promote the peace agenda,” he highlighted.
Recalling last year's meetings in Brussels, Prague, and Sochi at
the highest level, as well as his own three meetings with his
Armenian colleague, Bayramov stated that all the meetings discussed
the preparation of a bilateral treaty on interstate relations.
He reminded the participants that at the last meeting of the
foreign ministers in Washington D.C., the sides agreed to expedite
negotiations to that end. With this in mind, Azerbaijan has already
submitted to Armenia a set of comments on the draft agreement, he
added.
“Azerbaijan's approach is clear, that is, international laws.
After an almost 30-year-long absence of the relations, the urgent
necessity for the sides is to agree on a legally binding document
setting the foundation for their interstate relations. This
document shall guarantee their rights as two equal sovereign states
and provide a basis for addressing all issues of common interest or
concern falling into the realm of inter-state relations,” Bayramov
stressed.
Furthermore, the Azerbaijani official noted that despite
increased dynamism in bilateral negotiations, the progress remains
rather limited in three major tracks of the normalization process,
namely, signing a peace treaty, delimitation of borders, and
opening regional communications.
According to him, in all three dimensions, Armenia sticks to the
past practice of imitation rather than engaging genuinely in the
process and despite verbal commitments to the peace agenda, Armenia
tries to avoid implementing the obligations it has undertaken.
“In this regard, Armenia has yet to fully withdraw its illegal
armed formations from the territories of Azerbaijan. In a similar
vein, Armenia artificially delays the restoration of transport
links, including by rejecting to provide unimpeded access between
mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
Instead, Armenia launched a smear campaign against Azerbaijan to
hijack the normalization process and distract the attention from
non-fulfillment of its commitments,” Bayramov underlined.
The minister noted that the role of certain third parties to
embolden Armenia's revanchist behavior is also cause for serious
concern, as it tempts Armenia to resort to increased military
provocations and saber-rattling rhetoric.
---
Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @sabinammdl
Follow us on Twitter @azernewsaz
Tags: karabakh osce osce ministerial council idps reconstruction mines mandate jeyhun bayramov
Comments
No comment