BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 17
By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:
The speech of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at the Munich Security Conference, based on historical facts and international legal acts, again put the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in a hopeless situation, Head of Azerbaijan’s Ombudsman Office Aydin Safikhanli told Trend.
Panel discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were held between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 15.
Aydin Safikhanli noted that during a panel debate on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Ilham Aliyev referred to historical documents, as well as the documents of international law, and once again stated that Karabakh is a historical Azerbaijani land.
"Stressing that Azerbaijanis were historically subjected to ethnic cleansing and genocide by Armenians, that the Azerbaijani lands were occupied by Armenia, and that present-day Armenia was created on the historical Azerbaijani lands, the head of state brought historical and other documents to the attention of those present at the panel," Safikhanli said.
Head of Azerbaijan’s Ombudsman Office noted that this time too, Pashinyan, who prior was known from the first days of coming to power as an indecisive person, this time will be remembered with a populist statement, with unjustified historical facts.
"Pashinyan's continuous glancing at his notes as a student who does not know the lesson, and an excited speech referring to an article written in a distorted form and published in the newspaper by an Armenian journalist, puzzled the panel attendants. Pashinyan was so confused that in a speech he admitted that Nagorno Karabakh is Azerbaijani land, and then apologized to everyone. In his speech, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev informed the panel that Armenia could never pursue an independent policy, was not interested in ceasefire, pursues an aggressive policy and the leaders of Armenia at the most decisive moment in the peace negotiations found certain reasons to interrupt or evade them," Safikhanli said.
"Stressing that Armenia wants to keep the status quo unchanged, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said that Armenians may believe that they will constantly keep these territories under occupation. But this will not remain so and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan will be restored," Aydin Safikhamli said.
Safikhanli added that in his speech, President Ilham Aliyev, addressing international and regional organizations, as well as member countries of these organizations, which have the right and authority to ensure international law, including the settlement of the conflict, called for respect for the decisions they made and resolutions and ensure the rule of law.
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.