Azerbaijan entitled to defend its sovereignty by all means Parliament appeals to int’l community

Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova has said Azerbaijan has the right to defend its sovereignty by all means.

Speaker Gafarova, heads of working groups on inter-parliamentary relations and heads of Azerbaijani delegations to international parliamentary organizations sent an appeal to the heads of international parliamentary organizations and parliaments of foreign countries in connection with anti-terrorism measures that are being carried out in response to provocations of Armenian armed forces in the Garabagh region of Azerbaijan, APA reports, citing the parliament’s press service.

The appeal notes that Azerbaijan is committed to the process of signing a peace treaty based on the normalisation of relations with Armenia, respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It stresses that Azerbaijan is also endeavouring to reintegrate the ethnic Armenians of the Karabakh region as citizens of Azerbaijan, ensuring all their rights and freedoms within the framework of the country's Constitution and international agreements to which Azerbaijan is a party.

Since November 2020, Azerbaijan has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to this process. Proof of Azerbaijan’s commitment to de-escalation is the delivery of products by trucks of the International Committee of the Red Cross to the Armenian residents of the Garabagh region, with the simultaneous use of the Agdam-Khankendi and Lachin-Khankendi roads.

The document notes with regret that despite the aforementioned efforts of Azerbaijan, Armenia, using all means, continued attempts to encroach on Azerbaijans’ sovereignty and territorial integrity and to maintain the presence of separatists in Azerbaijani territories.

It states that military provocations on the delimited border and in the Garabagh region, the provision of financial, military and technical assistance to ten thousand military personnel illegally stationed in Azerbaijani territories, planting of landmines, cases of the use of radio interference against civil aircraft of Azerbaijan and foreign countries, groundless accusations of “blockade" and "humanitarian crisis", political blackmail, the so-called "presidential elections" of the separatist regime and congratulatory messages to this illegal regime are examples of just some of the provocative steps taken by the Armenian side aimed at disrupting the normalization process.

As stated in the appeal, Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that, contrary to the provisions of the trilateral Statement signed on 10 November 2020, the presence of Armenian armed forces formations in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan continues, which is a source of serious threat to peace and stability in the region.

On September 19, civilians and servicemen were killed and wounded as a result of large-scale military provocations and terrorist acts committed by Armenian armed formations in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

“In response to all this, the Azerbaijani side began anti-terrorist measures that serve only the purpose of disarmament and withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from our territories, neutralizing their military infrastructure, ensuring the safety of civilians and restoring the Constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The relevant structures of Azerbaijan have emphasised that only illegal military formations and military infrastructure are the target of these activities The civilian population is not a target under any circumstances,” the document says.

The authors of the appeal recall that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan are as important as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any country, and Azerbaijan has the right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity by all means provided for by the norms of international law.

In conclusion, the parliamentarians once again called on the international community to support Azerbaijan's anti-terrorist measures, put pressure on Armenia to refrain from provocations against Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity for the sake of ensuring long-term peace and stability in the region and to act within the framework of the normalisation process.