BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 26
Trend:
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s interview to the Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper can be regarded as another populist statement, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend.
Abdullayeva was commenting on Pashinyan’s interview to the Italian newspaper.
The spokesperson said that while talking about “Armenophobia” phenomenon, Pashinyan mentioned false examples having nothing to do with reality.
"Pashinyan states that Henrikh Mkhitaryan could not participate in the final match of the UEFA Europa League in Baku, allegedly because he was an Armenian,” the spokesperson said. “Azerbaijan disseminated official information about the full security of all players, including Mkhitaryan.”
“Mkhitaryan did not come to Azerbaijan to participate in the final match of the Europa League upon his own decision, while Azerbaijan gave all the relevant guarantees,” Abdullayeva said. “We would also like to stress that athletes of Armenian origin have repeatedly participated in numerous sports competitions held so far in Azerbaijan. During the European Games, Azerbaijani president personally presented the award to an athlete of Armenian origin.”
“Trying to somehow justify his unfounded allegations, Pashinyan shared another thought, citing a false "example" that a driver who was listening to Armenian music in Baku was allegedly arrested,” the spokesperson said.
“As for the thoughts regarding the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, expressed in Pashinyan’s interview, we would like to stress that the Azerbaijani president directly and unequivocally voiced his views on the conflict settlement at the meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, held on October 3 in Sochi this year,” Abdullayeva said.
“Azerbaijani president stressed the need to do this within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, on the basis of the UN Charter adopted by the whole world, resolutions of the UN Security Council and the Helsinki Final Act,” the spokesperson said.
“The settlement of the conflict on this basis will bring stability, prosperity and progress to our region," Abdullayeva added.
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, 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 Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.