BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct.17
Trend:
The attempts of the Armenian Foreign Minister to accuse Azerbaijan and Turkey of aggravating the situation in the region during a briefing with the Greek Foreign Minister are another vivid example of Armenia's hypocritical policy of aggression against Azerbaijan, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
"It should be reminded to the Armenian Foreign Minister that the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, proceeding from the right to self-defense, protect the civilian population of Azerbaijan and carry out counter-offensive measures in the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan," the ministry said.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry noted that the new aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan and the ongoing targeted attacks on the Azerbaijani civilian population, gross violations of the humanitarian ceasefire, as well as rocket attacks on Azerbaijani cities far from the conflict zone, which led to serious civilian casualties, clearly demonstrate that Armenia is not interested in a political solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; on the contrary, it is trying to involve third parties in the conflict.
"There is no other explanation for the shelling of Azerbaijani cities by Armenia from its territory. It is extremely regrettable that Armenia, instead of respecting the norms and principles of international law, especially the inviolability of internationally recognized borders, territories of Azerbaijan, resorted to new aggression, hiding behind the cover of the ceasefire regime. The Armenian leadership is responsible for attacks on civilians in Azerbaijan, as a result of which 47 civilians were killed and 222 people were injured. Foreign Minister Mnatsakanyan should be aware that these attacks are war crimes under international law, and those who commit them are individually responsible. Armenia should stop accusing others of escalating the situation in the region, withdraw its armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and begin negotiations on the merits to resolve the conflict and ensure peace in the region," the ministry said.