(MENAFN- AzerNews)
“Labeling by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia of the
local counter-terrorism measures aimed at disarming and completely
forcing out the remnants of the armed forces of Armenia from the
Karabakh economic region of our country, and restoring the
sovereignty and constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan
in those territories, as an attack against“Nagorno-Karabakh” and
“ethnic cleansing” is unacceptable,” said Aykhan Hajizada,
Spokesperson for Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as he
commented on the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Armenia of 19 September.
“Despite presenting itself as a peaceful country, Armenia's
calling Garabagh, the ancient and eternal land of Azerbaijan, with
fictional names such as“Nagorno-Karabakh” is a clear example of
disrespect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan.
The counter-terrorism measures carried out in our sovereign
territories in less than 24 hours by our Armed Forces on 19-20
September 2023 were in full compliance with international law,
including international humanitarian law. Azerbaijan's restoration
of sovereignty over its lands, in addition to constituting one of
the most glorious pages of our history, is a triumph of
international law and justice.
It was well-known that despite the defeat of Armenia in the 2020
Patriotic War and over the three years, until 2023, contrary to the
obligations it accepted, Armenia not only had not withdrawn its
illegal armed groups from the Garabakh region of Azerbaijan, but
even transferred additional weaponry, ammunition, military
equipment, landmines to Azerbaijani territories. Armenia, which
continued landmine terror against our country, even further
expanded this threat over time. Armenia's officials were
propagating the puppet regime they kept in our territories by all
means, and the Prime Minister of Armenia congratulated the
separatist regime on the so-called“independence” on 2 September
2023.
The major condition was to counter such exceeding any boundaries
behavior of Armenia, which did not give up its unfounded claims
against the territories of Azerbaijan laid within the historical
and international legal framework, and falsification of history,
grossly violated the principles of international law and did not
draw conclusions from the miserable situation it had fallen in due
to its policy of aggression.
On 19 September 2023, the death of 6 Azerbaijani citizens as a
result of the terror act committed by the Armenian armed forces
exhausted Azerbaijan's patience and made counter-terrorism measures
inevitable.
Despite the inflammatory efforts and propaganda of the Armenian
side, during the counter-terrorism measures the civilian population
was not targeted, the civil infrastructure was not damaged, and
only legitimate military infrastructure and facilities were
destroyed. Notwithstanding numerous calls from the Azerbaijani side
not to leave their places of residence, despite the launched
reintegration program, Armenian residents decided to leave the
territories of Azerbaijan. It was their free choice, and to label
it as an“ethnic cleansing” shows the hypocrisy of Armenia, which
has mass-evicted Azerbaijanis from Armenia and occupied Azerbaijani
territories, committing genocide and massacres.
With the complete restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial
integrity and state sovereignty, a historic opportunity has emerged
for the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and
consequently for the signing of a final peace agreement. Thus,
while Azerbaijan is the initiator of the peace process for the sake
of the security and progress of our region and has been making
genuine efforts in this direction, maintaining claims against the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in the Armenian Constitution
and other legislative acts is unacceptable, and for the historical
peace opportunity not to be missed by Armenia necessary and
adequate measures must be taken as soon as possible to eliminate
the mentioned claims.
On this historically important day for the people and state of
Azerbaijan, we once again commemorate with deep respect the dear
memory of sons and daughters of the homeland who sacrificed their
lives for the independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty
of Azerbaijan.
We are proud of our glorious Armed Forces, and we wish our state
and people a lasting victory!” Hajizada added.
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