Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 2
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
Making illegal visits to the Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories, Canadian MPs are becoming tools of propaganda in Armenia’s hands, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev told The Globe and Mail.
The Globe and Mail article notes that Canadian MPs Tony Clement and Rachael Harder were placed on Azerbaijan’s list of undesirable persons for visiting the territories occupied by Armenia, which have been the scene of bloody clashes over the past 16 months.
Talking to The Globe and Mail, Hajiyev said that Armenia is ignoring four resolutions of the United Nations Security Council calling for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.
“One million Azerbaijanis have been subject to ethnic cleansing. Imagine Canadian MPs visiting these territories and, in a way, giving their support to this ethnic cleansing,” Hajiyev said. “It is completely unacceptable.”
Commenting on his visit to the occupied territories, MP Tony Clement told The Globe and Mail that he was on a humanitarian mission and is not endorsing anyone.
Adam Austen, press secretary at the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, said the country recommends against all travel to the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and fully supports the OSCE efforts for comprehensive conflict settlement.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.