BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Armenians exterminated hundreds of Azerbaijanis in Khojaly and thus, the Khojaly genocide is one of the most tragic events in the history of the Turkic peoples, spokesman of the Turkish Embassy in Azerbaijan Huseyn Altinalan told Trend.
"Unfortunately, those who committed this crime, turning Khojaly into a sea of blood, have not yet stood before an international court. The international community, in particular, the UN, should force Armenia to withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, including Nagorno Karabakh," Huseyn Altinalan said.
According to the Turkish diplomat, the world is silent about the Khojaly genocide and turns a blind eye to the perpetrated atrocities, while Armenia continues to deny the crimes committed.
"At a debate on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan denied the Khojaly genocide and made claims that Nagorno Karabakh is Armenian land," Altinalan said.
Altinalan noted that Nikol Pashinyan knows very well that at one time the Russian Empire placed Armenians in and around the territory of present-day Yerevan using various ways, thus creating settlements of Armenians on the lands of Erivan and Nakhchivan Khanates.
"Emphasizing these facts, President Ilham Aliyev taught a good lesson to Pashinyan, who, not knowing what to say in response to what he heard, admitted that his son was serving in Nagorno Karabakh," the Turkish diplomat said.
Huseyn Altinalan added that Pashinyan, having voiced conflicting thoughts and groundless allegations, was in a very awkward position in front of President Ilham Aliyev and those present at the debate.
"The whole world has again witnessed that the allegations of the Armenians are unfounded," the Turkish diplomat underlined.
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.
During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.
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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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