Azerbaijan urges Armenia to abandon statements detrimental to peace process

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s unfounded statements, voiced on November 10 at the panel discussions of the VI Paris Peace Conference, demonstrate that Armenia does not give up political manipulation and distorted interpretations.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said this in a response to the statements made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the panel discussions of the VI Paris Peace Conference, Caliber.Az reports.

“We strongly condemn and reject the claims of the Armenian prime minister that Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan have allegedly been subjected to `ethnic cleansing’.

“Armenia, which over almost 30 years of aggressive policies has violated the fundamental rights of up to a million Azerbaijanis, committed unprecedented genocide and massacres against Azerbaijanis, including children, women and the elderly, has no moral right to accuse Azerbaijan of “ethnic cleansing.”

Prime Minister Pashinyan is well aware that the resettlement of Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to Armenia based on personal decisions and has nothing to do with forced relocation. We remind the prime minister once again that such unfounded accusations directly contradict the reports and statements of representatives of specialized UN structures that visit the region and are also active in Armenia.

“It is completely unfounded that the demand of the Western Azerbaijani Community for a safe and dignified return to their native lands was characterized by the Armenian prime minister as ‘territorial claims’ and ‘preparation for aggression’ against Armenia. It was Armenia that completely rejected the Western Azerbaijani Community's proposal for dialogue, thereby demonstrating its disinterest in peace and stability in the region.

“Having emphasized the importance of recognizing sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect for the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration on the issue of delimitation of borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the principles of sovereignty, jurisdiction and equality of countries for establishing transport and economic ties in the region, the prime minister forgot that Armenia violated these principles more than 30 years. Unlike Armenia, immediately after the 44-day war, it was Azerbaijan that offered peace to Armenia based on 5 basic principles. Armenia continues to violate these principles with its claims against our country.

“We call on Armenia, which continues its aggressive slanderous rhetoric against our country using various international platforms, to abandon statements that are detrimental to peaceful prospects and use the created historical opportunities to transform the South Caucasus region into a space of peace and cooperation. We hope that Armenia will adequately respond to Azerbaijan’s calls for the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the signing of a peace treaty in the near future,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry emphasizes in a statement.