(MENAFN- AzerNews) We strongly reject the unfounded statement of the Armenian
Foreign Ministry from December 24, 2022, distorting views expressed
by the Azerbaijani President during his meeting with the Western
Azerbaijan Community, Azernews reports per the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry.
It is nothing but hypocrisy by the Armenian Foreign Ministry to
claim Azerbaijan's disinterest in regional peace and stability and
is a violation of international law. We would like to remind
Armenia that despite the 30-year-long occupation of Azerbaijani
territories by Armenia, the expulsion from the territories of
Azerbaijan hundreds of thousands of people, and massacres
committed, Azerbaijan has remained faithful to the negotiations
process toward the peaceful and negotiated resolution of the
conflict with Armenia for 25 years. Despite the total victory in
the 44-day Patriotic War and the liberation of its territories from
occupation, it was Azerbaijan that put forward the proposal to sign
a peace treaty with Armenia.
The idea that Azerbaijan violates the Prague and Sochi
agreements and derails the peace process is equally unfounded. It
should be noted that despite the Prague and Sochi agreements to
discuss and resolve all problematic issues on the basis of mutual
recognition of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and
inviolability of borders, besides not giving up its territorial
claims against Azerbaijan, Armenia continues its intrusions against
the sovereignty of Azerbaijan, as could be observed from the
situation around the Lachin road.
Furthermore, Armenia putting forward conditions hindering the
meeting between the leaders in Brussels in December, as well as
refusing to participate in the Moscow meeting of the foreign
ministers on December 23, clearly shows the side obstructing the
peace process.
It is surprising that Azerbaijan assuming more favorable
positions on the undemarcated border with Armenia is being passed
off as Azerbaijan allegedly occupying any part of the territory of
Armenia. Considering the facts of occupation of the territories of
Azerbaijan by Armenia for 30 years, continuing occupation of 8
internationally recognized villages of Azerbaijan, and
establishment of military positions in many directions within the
sovereign territories of Azerbaijan, there is no basis for claims
that any position in the aforementioned area belonged specifically
to Armenia before.
Interpretation of the ideas that a number of territories in
present-day Armenia are historical territories of Azerbaijan as
stated in historical works, maps, and adopted documents as
territorial claims against Armenia, as well as accusations against
Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing are hypocritical and prove that
Armenia is ignorant of the historical facts.
It is historical fact that Azerbaijanis were suppressed in their
historical lands with the massive relocation of Armenians to the
South Caucasus during the last two hundred years. As a result of
this plan, perpetrated step-by-step, Azerbaijanis were expelled
from the territory now called Armenia - from their native
historical lands, where they lived for thousands of years, and were
subjected to mass murders and massacres, thousands historical and
cultural monuments and settlements belonging to Azerbaijanis were
destroyed, and more than 2000 toponyms were altered.
Only during the years of 1948 - 1953, about 150 thousand
Azerbaijanis were forcibly and massively deported from their
historical lands in the territory of present-day Armenia. In
addition, in 1988 - 1991, another deportation of Azerbaijanis from
their historical and ethnic lands took place, as a result of which
more than 200 thousand Azerbaijanis became refugees from Armenia.
Moreover, during the nearly 30-year-long occupation of the
internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, Armenia
implemented a policy of ethnic cleansing against more than 700
thousand Azerbaijanis, brutally murdering 613 people in one night
in Khojaly alone.
As for the calls for the restoration of the traffic on the
Lachin road, it seems that Armenia is concerned that the protests
on the Lachin road against the illegal economic activity, will
obstruct its activity, disrupt the supply of Armenian armed forces,
still not withdraw from the territory of Azerbaijan in violation of
Paragraph 4 of the Trilateral Statement, as well as obstruct its
military provocations such as transportation of landmines through
the Lachin road in violation of paragraph 6 of the Statement.
It should be noted that the claims of protests on the Lachin
road posing a threat of a humanitarian crisis, and of Armenians
allegedly being under a blockade, are baseless. The movement of
citizens, vehicles, and goods along the road remains unchanged. The
video footage shows the unimpeded passage of various types of
vehicles, including ambulances and humanitarian aid convoys.
Furthermore, there are no obstructions to the supply of goods for
the use of local residents or the necessary medical services. The
government of Azerbaijan has also stated its readiness to promptly
resolve all humanitarian needs that Armenian residents may
face.
We state once again that Armenia's continued destructive
activities in violation of its obligations, its statements and
actions against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan, in light of Azerbaijan's intention to establish peace
and security in the region and its peace-building initiatives, do
not serve to restore peace in the region. Azerbaijan will continue
the relevant peace-building measures on the basis provided by
international law.
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Tags: azerbaijani foreign ministry statement armenian foreign ministry