...

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry calls on U.S., France to refrain from bias

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 22 August 2014 17:34 (UTC +04:00)
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement made Aug. 22, called on U.S. and France to demonstrate a principled position with regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s resolution and to refrain from bias while expressing condolences and concerns.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry calls on U.S., France to refrain from bias

Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 22

By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, in a statement made Aug. 22, called on U.S. and France to demonstrate a principled position with regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's resolution and to refrain from bias while expressing condolences and concerns.

The statement was disseminated by the ministry's press service with regard to the statements of the U.S. Department of State and French Foreign Ministry on Karen Petrosyan, a member of the Armenian armed forces subversive group.

"As it was stated by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Karen Petrosyan, with the aim of committing acts of sabotage as part of the Armenian armed forces subversive group entered the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan through the Armenia-Azerbaijan borderline," the Foreign Ministry said.

"The attack and sabotage of the subversive group were prevented by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and a military serviceman of the subversive group, Karen Petrosyan, was taken captive," according to the statement.

"Furthermore, it was also stressed that the reasons for the death of Karen Petrosyan, who passed away suddenly, were investigated by the medical experts in an open and transparent manner, and the International Committee of Red Cross was immediately informed about his death."

The ministry said Armenia in occupying Azerbaijani territories is on a regular basis gravely violating international humanitarian law against Azerbaijani citizens, who are held hostages and as prisoners of war in Armenian captivity.

Armenia is violating the 'Geneva Conventions for Protection of War Victims of 1949', the ministry stressed.

"The acts of mass murder, inflicting cruel torture, mental suffering, merciless and degrading treatment to the point of suicide; executing or torturing to death were conducted by Armenia against the Azerbaijani prisoners of war and hostages," the ministry stressed in its statement.

"As the result of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, the fate of more than 4,000 Azerbaijani prisoners of war and hostages in captivity of Armenia still remains unknown," according to the ministry.

"Inflicting brutal torture and degrading treatment against Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov, who visited their native land and graveyards of their parents, murdering of Hasan Hasanov, targeting the civilians, including children by the Armenian forces through the contact line and Armenia-Azerbaijan border since the very beginning of occupation, the terror-sabotage act committed in cowardice and contemptible manner on July 31 - August 1 and the attempts to continue it on August 7, are the facts of Armenia's immoral and inhuman policy detrimental to international law."

The ministry said that in the view of aforementioned, Armenia's deliberate attempts to exaggerate and politicize the case of Karen Petrosyan are only aimed at concealing the atrocities committed by Armenia.

"While exhibiting indifferent attitude to such inhuman behavior of Armenia, including the fate of Shahbaz Guliyev, Dilgam Asgarov and also Hasan Hasanov, as well as the terror-sabotage act of Armenia on July 31- August 1, the statement delivered by the U.S. and France, which are also the Co-Chairs of OSCE Minsk Group, under the influence of the propaganda machine of Armenia and radical Armenian diaspora is incomprehensible and unacceptable."

The ministry said that this lop-sided and biased attitude demonstrated by OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs vis-à-vis such sensitive issues is not perceived in an unambiguous manner by Azerbaijani society.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four U.N. Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

Tags:
Latest

Latest