(MENAFN- AzerNews) Azerbaijani diaspora organizations have issued a statement
regarding the situation around the Lachin-Shusha-Khankendi
road.
"We are very surprised and disappointed by the July 28, 2023
statement by Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović
Burić on the issue of supplies for the Armenian population of the
Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. This statement contradicts the
purposes and principles set out in the Council's Charter, the
European convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights," said in the statement.
"Azerbaijani diaspora organizations maintain that the statements
that Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan are
allegedly under blockade and facing a humanitarian crisis are yet
another piece of defamation and nonsense that Armenia has resorted
to in order to mislead international public opinion. For example,
in 2020, shortly after the Second Karabakh War, which lasted 44
days and ended with Azerbaijan's historic victory, official Baku,
despite the 30-year occupation and hardships endured by the
Azerbaijani people, proposed basic principles and a peace treaty to
normalize relations between the two countries on the basis of
mutual recognition and respect for each other's territorial
integrity, sovereignty and borders. Despite the fact that the
Armenian side remained unresponsive to these peace initiatives for
a long time and used various pretexts to slow down the process, the
Azerbaijani side showed determination and continued its goodwill
efforts to promote initiatives towards a peace treaty, delimitation
of borders and opening of communications. Consistent steps were
taken by the Azerbaijani authorities towards dialogue with the
local Armenian residents of the Karabakh region, the construction
of the new Lachin road was completed in a short period of time and
the road was put into operation.
The Armenian side, on the contrary, made the unreasonable
proposal to "ensure the rights and security of Karabakh Armenians
through Baku-Khankendi negotiations within the framework of an
international mechanism", preventing direct contacts between
Azerbaijan and local Armenian residents and effectively continuing
to make territorial claims against our country in a different
guise. At the same time, in violation of the trilateral agreement
of November 10, 2020, Armenia has not withdrawn its armed forces
from Azerbaijani territory, and continued to mine Azerbaijani
territories instead of providing maps of minefields to official
Baku. As a result, 303 Azerbaijanis, including two journalists,
have become victims of landmine explosions since November 2020.
Azerbaijan has set up the Lachin border crossing checkpoint in
its sovereign territory in order to control its borders and prevent
Armenia's illegal activities. Although Azerbaijan ensured the
passage of Armenian residents, the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) and the Russian peacekeeping forces through the
border crossing checkpoint, the Armenian side circulated false
statements about the "dire humanitarian situation" in the region in
order to continue illegal activities in the territory of
Azerbaijan. At the same time, it resorted to numerous provocations,
such as firing at Azerbaijani border guards on June 15, attempted
smuggling, and unauthorized sending of trucks to the territory of
Azerbaijan on July 26.
Despite the fact that Azerbaijan made a number of proposals,
including the use of the Aghdam-Khankendi road and other
alternative roads to meet the needs of Armenian residents, and
despite the support of these proposals by the European Union and
the ICRC, the Armenian side rejected these proposals by installing
concrete obstacles on the alternative roads and blocking access to
the territory, which once again shows that Armenia's statements
concerning the humanitarian situation in the region are political
blackmail and manipulation.
Azerbaijani diaspora organizations state that Armenia's goal is
to attract third parties to the region, expand the geography of
tensions and disrupt the peace process. Responsibility for all the
provocations of recent days lies with Armenia and its leadership,
as they continue their illegal military presence in Azerbaijani
territories, foment separatism and obstruct reintegration efforts.
At the same time, we demand that a number of countries turning a
blind eye to the suffering of about one million Azerbaijanis
forcibly expelled from Armenia and the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to the genocide of
February 26, 1992 in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly, to the fact
that Armenia kept the invaded Azerbaijani territories under
occupation for 30 years and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
under blockade for 32 years, to the continuing presence of Armenian
armed forces in the territory of Azerbaijan for the last three
years, to Armenia's obstruction of the opening of communications,
respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,
refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of our country and
put an end to the policy of double standards."