BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 1
Trend:
Information spread by Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the recent meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's settlement once again confirms its completely unfounded position, Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said.
Abdullayeva was commenting on the information spread by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Trend reports on July 1 referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
The spokesperson stressed that the Armenian Foreign Ministry distributed official information about the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers held on June 30 in the format of a videoconference with the participation of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office.
"It was previously reported that during the meeting, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov raised the issue about illegal activity and infrastructure changes being carried out by Armenia in the occupied Azerbaijani territories,” Abdullayeva added.
“Mammadyarov also stressed that Armenia’s provocative actions aggravates the rhetoric” the spokesperson said.
“The information spread by the Armenian Foreign Ministry in connection with the meeting once again confirms the completely unfounded position that the aggressor country traditionally demonstrates,” Abdullayeva said.
“It is clear that tension in the region, escalated rhetoric, confrontation and enmity are caused by Armenia’s aggressive policy, keeping the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation and ethnic cleansing of numerous Azerbaijanis in these territories,” the spokesperson said.
“As for the obligation to prepare the population for peace, Armenia must withdraw its occupation forces from Nagorno-Karabakh region and the adjacent districts of Azerbaijan to comply with it, and not impede the return of Azerbaijani internally displaced people to their lands,” Abdullayeva said.
“As for the "Karabakh people" concept, which is mentioned by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, everyone, including Armenia itself, is well aware that such a concept does not exist,” the spokesperson said.
“The Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh region make up one of the two communities of this region of Azerbaijan,” the spokesperson said. “The representatives of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh region were expelled from their houses as a result of the Armenian aggression and became internally displaced people.”
“The negotiations on the conflict settlement are aimed at restoring the violated fundamental rights and freedoms of these people, ensuring the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Azerbaijani territory,” Abdullayeva said. “There is no other way to ensure sustainable peace, stability and security in the region."
The security of the "Karabakh people" was mentioned in the information spread by the Armenian Foreign Ministry in connection with the online meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers on June 30 with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, with a reference to Azerbaijan’s "unconstructive statements".
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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.