Azerbaijan advises US not to follow Armenia’s smear campaign Statement by Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry

Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada has said that coming to the allegations made by Yuri Kim, US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs not reflecting the current situation and realities in the post-conflict situation in the region are just disappointing.

Hajizada was commenting on the statement made by Yuri Kim, who demanded the immediate opening of the Lachin road and stated that “the US does not accept the use of force against the population of Nagorno-Garabagh”, Caliber.Az reports.

“First of all, the fact that the initiator and organiser of these hearings is Robert Menendez, a pro-Armenian Senator who is notable by a traditional enmity towards our country is well-known. This person’s engagement with anti-Azerbaijani activities based on false claims of radical representatives of the Armenian diaspora while the aforementioned Senator is charged with corruption and the investigation process is underway, once again proves that political morals mean nothing to him at all,” a spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry noted.

“These claims not only contradict the agreement on the simultaneous use of the Aghdam-Khankandi and Lachin-Khankandi roads agreed during the contacts between Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State dated September 1, 2023, but also, unfortunately, contain elements of Armenia's worldwide smear campaign against Azerbaijan. Non-observance of this agreement, which is also intended to be implemented through the mediation of the US side, by Armenia and the so-called regime created by it, and groundless claims on the “blockade and humanitarian situation” are well-known to the US,” he said.

“We advise the international community, including the US side not to be a part of such steps that contribute to instability in the region, and not to follow baseless smear campaign of Armenia,” Hajizada added.