Western Azerbaijan Community strongly condemns Armenian PM's territorial claims

The Western Azerbaijan Community has strongly condemned Armenian Prime Minister Nikos Pashinyan’s territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

"We, as the Western Azerbaijan Community, strongly condemn the fact that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, on September 2, 2023, expressed a territorial claim against Azerbaijan by addressing a congratulatory letter on the anniversary of the ‘Declaration of Independence of Nagorno-Karabakh’,” the community said in a statement, Report informs.

According to the statement, this position of the prime minister, in addition to disrespecting the norms and principles of international law, shows an immeasurable level of hypocrisy in the politics of this country.

"It is disgusting that Armenia, which expelled all Azerbaijanis from its territory and the Azerbaijani lands it once occupied, and pursues a notorious mono-ethnic policy, accuses Azerbaijan of intending ethnic cleansing. Armenia has no moral right to talk about humanitarian issues and human rights.

It should be recalled that Armenia did not allow Azerbaijani IDPs to return to their homes for 30 years until the invading Armenian army was defeated and removed from the territory of Azerbaijan in 2020. In addition, Armenia still does not allow the return of the Azerbaijanis it expelled from its territory.

Also, Azerbaijani IDPs who were evicted from settlements such as Khankendi, Khojaly, Karkijahan, Meshali, Garadaghli of the Garabagh economic region of Azerbaijan still cannot return to their homes,” the statement said.

It was also emphasised that immediately after the 2020 war, Azerbaijan made it possible for Armenians to return safely to the Garabagh region of Azerbaijan and is currently trying to re-integrate them. In addition, Armenians live in Azerbaijani territories outside the Garabagh region as full-fledged citizens of Azerbaijan.

"We would like to emphasise that it is Armenia's obligation under international law and the Tripartite Declaration to provide conditions for the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia,” the Community pointed out.

With the full restoration of control over its borders by Azerbaijan on April 23, 2023, the true face of Armenia has been revealed, the statement added.

“Prime Minister Pashinyan's recent statement openly supporting separatism shows that his statements about recognising the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan were only aimed at wasting time to complete the large-scale armament program currently being carried out by Armenia and to maximally strengthen its military presence in Azerbaijan’s Garabagh region.

Excited by the ‘humanitarian aid’ show organised by a number of French cities, by the so-called reports and opinions of people like Luis Ocampo, who approach the issues from the perspective of religious fanaticism, the premier made the situation in the region even more tense with this statement and actually destroyed the peace negotiation process. In this sense, Pashinyan's latest statement reminds of his almost 4-year-old statement: ‘Garabagh is Armenia and period’.

We demand that the Armenian government stop its illegal, destructive and dangerous actions and its plans against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. The international community should condemn the latest statement of the Armenian prime minister.

The Armenian government can be sure that the Western Azerbaijan Community will use all political and legal means to ensure the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to their homes within the framework of international mechanisms, under appropriate guarantees, and after their return, to ensure their individual and collective rights,” the statement reads.