Azerbaijani Speaker outlines major obstacles to regional peace and stability

POLITICS  30 September 2023 - 11:03

The demonstration of double standards on the issue of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is a rather serious challenge for European democracy.

Sahiba Gafarova also said that peace and security are of great importance for the rule of law, democracy, and inclusive development. Respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity is the basis of this, Caliber.Az, quoting her speech at the European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments in Dublin.

Informing in detail the conference participants about the current situation in the region and about the activities being implemented in the territories Azerbaijan liberated from occupation, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis noted that after the liberation of its lands from 30-year-long occupation by Armenia in 2020, Azerbaijan took initiatives to normalize relations with Armenia and sign a peace treaty with it on the basis of respect for each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of each other’s borders.

However, for three years, Armenia has used all means at its disposal to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, such as military and political provocations, planting mines, and supporting separatism in Azerbaijani territories. The presence of 10,000-strong Armenian armed forces in the Garabagh region of Azerbaijan and the existence of an illegal puppet regime were the main obstacles to achieving peace and stability in the region.

Over the past months, Armenia has attempted to manipulate and mislead the international community based on false and baseless allegations of a so-called “blockade” or “humanitarian crisis” in the Garabagh region. The passage of cargo into this region along both the Aghdam-Khankendi and Lachin-Khankendi roads, at the proposal of Azerbaijan, negated these accusations, continued Sahiba Gafarova.

The Speaker emphasized that on September 19, Armenia resorted to another military provocation, which resulted in the death of six Azerbaijani citizens

“In response to these provocations, Azerbaijan launched local counter-terror measures aimed against illegal military formations and military infrastructure. Civilians and civilian facilities were never targeted and any complaints about this are groundless. Counter-terrorism measures achieved their objectives in less than 24 hours. At the moment, the armed forces of Armenia are being withdrawn from our territories, the separatist regime has collapsed. The disarmament process that is still ongoing has revealed the terrifying scale of the illegal militarization of our territories.”

Caliber.Az