Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Unfortunately, Armenia continues to hold a destructive position and doesn't recognize the international law, head of the Public and Political Issues Department of Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, presidential aide Ali Hasanov said on March 2.
He was commenting on Armenia's position with respect to the Azerbaijanis taken hostage by Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh.
During an operation in the Shaplar village of Azerbaijan's occupied Kalbajar district on July 11, 2014 Armenian forces killed an Azerbaijani, Hasan Hasanov, and detained two other Azerbaijanis, Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov. A criminal case was filed against them. "The court" sentenced Asgarov to life imprisonment and Guliyev - to 22 years in prison.
"Basically, this country violates all norms of the international law and openly shows this position to the world," said the top official, adding that double standards dominate in the world and there is no reaction towards Armenia's actions.
"But Azerbaijan warns Armenia, including certain circles on which it relies, that a state shouldn't be built and governed based on such statements, thinking and political views," said Hasanov. "If they at least have a little respect for the international law, they should take into account the interests of their people."
The fact that Armenia has turned its own people into hostage and has territorial claims against its neighbors, puts this country's future under question, Hasanov said.
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 US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by SI