BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 15
Trend:
Live TV debates between Assistant to the Azerbaijani president, Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan were held by Al Jazeera broadcaster of Al Jazeera Media Network, Trend reports on July 15.
Mnatsakanyan tried to distort the essence of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying that Armenia, allegedly, is a supporter of peace, that his country is working to prevent tension and is a guarantor of the security of the Armenians of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Hajiyev exposed the lies of the Armenian foreign minister during the live broadcast.
The assistant to the Azerbaijani president emphasized that statements made by the Armenian minister once again confirm Armenia’s aggressive policy and territorial claims in relation to Azerbaijan.
Hajiyev said that Armenia aggressively occupied the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the adjacent seven districts of Azerbaijan, as a result of which over a million Azerbaijanis living in these territories were subjected to ethnic cleansing and were expelled from their homes.
The assistant to the Azerbaijani president stressed that being a state, Armenia bears international legal responsibility for military aggression against Azerbaijan.
"What are the Armenian soldiers doing in the occupied Azerbaijani territories?" Hajiyev asked Mnatsakanyan.
The assistant to the president emphasized that the incidents on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border are not a simple border clash as this provocation was thoroughly planned by the Armenian side and is a continuation of the military aggression against Azerbaijan.
Hajiyev said that these provocations are directly related to the following reasons:
- Armenia wants to avoid its responsibility for the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict;
- by making this provocation, Armenia wants to create tension in the region again and exposes the region to the direct threats;
- seeking to involve the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the conflict, Armenia is trying to play a dirty and irresponsible political game;
- Armenia pursues goals such as damage to the East-West transport corridor and [other] regional transport projects because it has remained beyond these projects;
- the Armenian leadership is trying to divert attention from the acute socio-economic problems observed amid the widespread spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Hajiyev said that by making the statement “Karabakh is Armenia and that’s it”, the Armenian leadership clearly demonstrates the policy of annexing a part of the Azerbaijani territories.
He stressed that by making such statements, Armenia destroys the format and the essence of the negotiation process, which is conducted through the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
The assistant to the president pointed out that first of all, this is disrespect to the co-chairing countries.
Hajiyev emphasized that it is Armenia that is responsible for the provocation committed on the border.
The assistant to the president added that Armenia is hiding its losses, but in the end, the leadership of this country will have to report to its people for real losses as a result of this military adventure.