Azerbaijan slams Dutch government's labeling of Karabakh as "takeover"

Aykhan Hajizada, Spokesperson for Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has condemned a recent statement by the Dutch government, which labeled the liberation of Azerbaijani territories as the "takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh."

The remarks, made on 13 September 2024 in the International Security Chapter of the Government Program of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, have sparked a strong response from Baku, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

In a statement issued to local media, Hajizada expressed disappointment over what he described as the Netherlands' biased approach towards Azerbaijan and the post-conflict situation in the region. “Unfortunately, the Dutch side on another occasion has been demonstrating a biased approach vis-à-vis Azerbaijan and the post-conflict situation in the region,” he said.

Hajizada vehemently rejected the characterization of the liberation of Azerbaijani territories as a “takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh,” emphasizing that the region has always been an integral part of Azerbaijan. “Karabakh region has always been an integral part of our country and was under the illegal occupation of Armenia for nearly 30 years,” he stated. “Turning a blind eye by the Netherlands to this illegal act of Armenia is regretful.”

He further asserted that Azerbaijan’s actions to reclaim its territories were in line with international law. “Azerbaijan’s measures to liberate these territories were a solemn right of our country based on the norms and principles of international law that could not be misjudged this or another way,” Hajizada added.

The spokesperson also took issue with the use of the term “Nagorno-Karabakh,” which he labeled as a “fake name” that reflects Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. “We resolutely reject the misnaming of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan with fake names as ‘Nagorno-Karabakh,’” he said. “There is no administrative or geographic unit in Azerbaijan called ‘Nagorno-Karabakh,’ and every state and organization has to refer to the geographic names in the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan standardized by the relevant authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

Hajizada concluded by urging the Dutch government to cease statements that, according to him, undermine bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands. “We call on the Dutch side to put an end to such statements that further undermine the bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands and hinder the future development of the region based on respect for the norms and principles of international law,” he said.