Azerbaijan strongly condemns Canada's foreign minister over "biased" statement

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has issued a strong condemnation of a recent statement made by Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, with an Azerbaijani official accusing Canada of distorting facts and supporting separatism in the Karabakh region.

In a commentary released on 22 September, Aykhan Hajizada, Spokesperson for Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, criticized Joly's remarks regarding the situation in Karabakh, following Azerbaijan’s full restoration of sovereignty over the region, Caliber.Az reports via the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

"We strongly condemn and categorically reject the statement made by the Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly," Hajizada said, asserting that Joly was engaging in "manipulations and distortion of facts" rather than understanding the realities of the region.

Hajizada emphasized that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan had ended four years ago, in accordance with international law, and that Azerbaijan had completed the restoration of its sovereignty over Karabakh in 2023. The Canadian Foreign Minister is "ignorant about the fact of Azerbaijan’s full restoration of its sovereignty over the Karabakh region in 2023, which ended the illegal presence of Armenia’s armed forces and the separatist regime it has sustained," he added.

The spokesperson went on to accuse Canada of supporting separatism through its statements, which, according to Hajizada, undermine Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Canadian Foreign Minister’s allegations in reference to Garabagh region... demonstrate how ingenious and far-fetched the foreign policy of Canada is."

Hajizada also criticized Canada for ignoring the past atrocities committed by Armenia, such as ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity targeting Azerbaijanis during the nearly 30-year conflict.

"It is unfortunate that the Canadian officials, being silent about the ethnic cleansing, massacres, and crimes against humanity by Armenia... disseminate false narratives promoted by the Armenian diaspora about Azerbaijan’s anti-terror measures conducted in its own sovereign territories."

Addressing Canadian concerns about a humanitarian crisis in the region, Hajizada noted Canada's lack of engagement regarding the plight of nearly 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Azerbaijan's formerly occupied territories. "The Canadian Minister’s assertion about the humanitarian crisis in the region... is an indication of the overt bias of Canada against Azerbaijan."

Concluding the statement, Hajizada dismissed Canada's ability to influence the peace process in the South Caucasus. "Canada has no moral right to preach about how peace and security need to be established in our region," he said. He further stressed that such "provocative and biased statements" serve as an obstacle to regional development, which should be based on respect for international law.

By Vugar Khalilov