BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 28
Trend:
Azerbaijani embassy in Kuwait issued a statement as a sign of protest against the gross violation of the ceasefire by the Armenian armed forces during the COVID-19 pandemic and the military provocation that resulted in human casualties, Trend reports on July 27.
"Armenia committed a provocation since July 12, 2020, grossly violating the ceasefire regime and the norms of international law. Armenia treacherously attacked Azerbaijan in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district and thereby again demonstrated its aggressive policy," said the message.
"As a result of the adequate steps of the Azerbaijani army, the attacks were repelled. While suffering losses, the Armenian servicemen were forced to retreat," the message noted.
"On July 13 and 14, the Armenian armed forces continued shelling in the direction of the Tovuz district from artillery, tanks and mortars. Grossly violating the ceasefire in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic’s Shahbuz and Julfa districts direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, they shelled the defensive positions of Azerbaijan from various weapons.”
“As a result of artillery shelling by the Armenian armed forces, a resident of Aghdam village, Tovuz district, 76-years-old civilian Izzat Azizov was killed. The Armenian side earlier also purposefully targeted and committed acts of crime against Azerbaijani civilians. In the city of Khojaly, Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by Armenia, on February 26, 1992, 613 civilians were killed with particular cruelty. The civilian population, including young children living in the border zone, are targeted: in April 2016 six civilians were killed and 33 ones were wounded. All these people are innocent victims of the Armenian aggression.”
“The responsibility for the ongoing events rests entirely with the military-political leadership of Armenia, and its representatives will surely receive an adequate response for their bloody crimes in the future.’
“The recent provocation, deliberately committed by Armenia during the COVID-19 crisis, is aimed at involving third countries in the conflict and is an attempt to divert the attention of the Armenian population from the internal problems. It is no coincidence that Armenia, immediately taking advantage of the situation, appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO] to ask for help. This shows that Armenia carefully planned this provocation.”
“As for Armenia’s accusations that the ceasefire regime was violated by the Azerbaijani side, we would like to state that the deployment of the Border Service troops by the decision of Azerbaijan’s president on the state border outside the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia and seven surrounding districts testifies to the absence of aggressive intentions of Azerbaijan,” said the statement.
“At the same time, the assertion that Azerbaijan, 20 percent territory of which is occupied, tried to violate the borders of the CSTO member Armenia, is beyond any logic, and Azerbaijan would never take such a step. Azerbaijan is still committed to the peace negotiations mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, but the patience of the Azerbaijani people is not endless. Azerbaijan retains the right for self-defense envisioned by Article 51 of the UN Charter, and if the peace negotiations do not give the expected result, it will use this right to restore its territorial integrity.”
“We believe that the aggressor and the country subjected to aggression should not be equalized. Azerbaijan has over a million refugees and internally displaced persons. They were deprived of the internationally recognized rights and freedoms. Through its own resources, the state tries to improve their living conditions every year,” said the embassy's message.
“At the same time, taking this opportunity, we would like to express our gratitude to Kuwait for the assistance provided to the Azerbaijani refugees in the early years of the conflict. However, unfortunately, Azerbaijan does not see proper support of the international community in the direction of restoring the rights of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs expelled from the historical land of their ancestors.”
“We inform that by its aggressive actions Armenia continues grossly violating the UN Charter, the norms of international humanitarian law established by the 1949 Geneva Convention, UN Security Council resolutions Nos. 822, 853, 874, 884, numerous resolutions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as decisions and principles of such regional organizations like the OSCE and the EU. We believe that the international community is not putting proper pressure on Armenia. Therefore, this country does not retreat from its aggressive actions and provocations, and also increases the probability of the continuation of such local clashes.”
“The fact that brotherly Kuwait was occupied in 1990 allows it to feel vividly our problem. At that time, the international community, having urgently organized a coalition on the basis of a UN resolution, liberated Kuwait from occupation. However, unfortunately, for over 30 years now, 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan is still under occupation, and the recent events again show that Armenia has not abandoned its aggressive policy.”
“In conclusion, we once again express our deep gratitude to friendly and fraternal countries, in particular Kuwait, to all international organizations, including the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for direct and indirect assistance provided to our country," the message said.