BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 29
Trend:
The statements by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan voiced during the meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Bishkek clearly demonstrated that he again resorts to deceitful militaristic rhetoric, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said, Trend reports Nov. 29.
Abdullayeva was commenting on Pashinyan’s speech at the CSTO meeting held in Bishkek.
“In fact, it is Pashinyan who undermines negotiations on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with such rhetoric,” the spokesperson added. “The statement “Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia”, made by Pashinyan in occupied Khankendi city this August, caused significant damage to the negotiation process. If Pashinyan changed his opinion - he needs to declare this openly, and if not, and his position remained unchanged - this is a serious blow to the negotiation process, including the activities and the mandate of the chairpersons of the OSCE Minsk Group itself.”
“The Armenian side, which organizes various provocations along the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border, shoots civilians, in particular, on Oct. 3 this year, killing an Azerbaijani excavator driver, wishes by such provocative actions to involve the CSTO into the conflict,” Abdullayeva said. “There is close cooperation between the CSTO member states and Azerbaijan, including in the military-political and military-technical fields. I would especially like to note the cooperation that has developed between Russia and Azerbaijan.”
“As you know, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu on Oct. 30 this year, and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov on Nov. 26, and issues of military cooperation between our countries for 2020 were discussed at both meetings. If necessary, Azerbaijan can purchase new weapons from Russia. We would like to emphasize that this issue has nothing to do with the competence of the Armenian prime minister.”
“Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev spoke at a meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of State in Ashgabat city, where, with reference to specific documents and evidence, he pointed out the glorification of fascism in Armenia and the erection of a monument to the Nazi executioner Garegin Nzhdeh,” Abdullayeva said. “Pashinyan’s ridiculous and absurd arguments, who tried to answer something to this statement, were countered with great skill in the response by President Ilham Aliyev. Now, these clumsy rhetorical arguments of the Armenian prime minister have become the subject of mockery in Armenia itself.”
“Pashinyan’s reference to the fact that the USSR People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov also met with Hitler, as well as his attempt to identify Garegin Nzhdeh with Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, are an example of historical illiteracy and cynicism,” the spokesperson noted. “Armenian prime minister must realize that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has nothing to do with the CSTO.”
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.