(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 28. The
Azerbaijani army launched a counter-offensive operation, later
called the "Iron Fist", on September 27, 2020, in response to the
large-scale provocation of the Armenian armed forces along the
frontline.
The 44-day second Karabakh war ended with the liberation of
Azerbaijan's territories from nearly 30-year Armenian occupation
and the restoration of territorial integrity.
On the initiative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a
meeting through videoconferencing was held between him and
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on September
28, 2020.
President Ilham Aliyev provided information about the military
provocation committed by Armenia against Azerbaijan yesterday. He
noted that on 27 September, Armenia used heavy artillery to fire on
the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and settlements
located along the line of contact. As a result of the attack,
Azerbaijani civilians and servicemen were killed. The Azerbaijani
side is conducting a successful counter-offensive operation in
self-defense.
The head of state emphasized that this was not the first time
the Armenian side had committed a military provocation. In
particular, the occupying country perpetrated a similar provocation
on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in July this year and then, in
August, an Armenian sabotage group attempted to cross the line of
contact. At the same time, Armenia is illegally resettling foreign
nationals from other countries in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan, which represents a flagrant violation of international
law under the Geneva Convention.
The President of Azerbaijan also noted that the Armenian prime
minister had created armed groups of volunteers consisting of tens
of thousands of civilians who were being forced to take part in
military operations against Azerbaijan.
During the conversation, President Ilham Aliyev said he had
talked about Armenia's preparations for a new war in his speech at
the general debates of the 75th session of the UN General
Assembly.
The head of state said that the Armenian leadership was
deliberately disrupting the negotiations. The statement of the
Armenian leadership that "Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia" dealt a
serious blow to the talks. The statement that "Azerbaijan should
hold talks with Nagorno-Karabakh" is an attempt to change the
format of the talks, which is also unacceptable, as confirmed by
the leadership of the Minsk Group.
President Ilham Aliyev said that the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved only within the
framework of international law and the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan, on the basis of relevant UN Security Council
resolutions calling for an immediate, unconditional and complete
withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories.
During the conversation, the sides also recalled the Special
Session of the UN General Assembly in response to COVID-19
initiated by Azerbaijan, and the head of state thanked the UN
Secretary-General for supporting this initiative. President Ilham
Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan would continue to spare no efforts in
the international arena to combat COVID-19.
The issues related to the prospects for cooperation between
Azerbaijan and the UN were also discussed during the meeting in a
videoconference format.
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