BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.19
Trend:
A plenary session of the Belgian Federal Parliament’s Chamber of Representatives held on December 17, 2020 adopted a draft resolution ‘Support of Belgium's Initiatives and International Structures for the Resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and a Ceasefire’, Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend on Dec.19
As earler reported, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, who is on a working visit to Belgium to attend a meeting of the Azerbaijan-EU Cooperation Council, met with Sophie Wilmes, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs.
During the meeting, Bayramov brought to the attention of the Belgian official the protest and dissatisfaction of Azerbaijan with the adoption of the above resolution, reflecting baseless and biased allegations against Azerbaijan, as well as brotherly Turkey.
Despite the fact that the document includes references to the norms and principles of international law, as well as the Resolutions No 822, 853, 874 and 884 of 1993 of the UN Security Council, after the explanation provided by the Belgian Government, it is unacceptable that it reflects biased opinions that do not reflect the truth.
"We would like to emphasize that the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium - Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and Federal Cultural Institutions, recalling the official position of her country, noted that Belgium has always been guided by the norms of international law in interstate relations," said the MFA.
Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation from late Sept. to early Nov. 2020, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by the Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM, and the president of Russia.
A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was introduced on Nov. 10, 2020.
Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of the Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front.
Back in July 2020, the Armenian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz district. As a result of Azerbaijan's retaliation, the opposing forces were silenced. The fighting continued the following days as well. Azerbaijan lost a number of military personnel members, who died fighting off the attacks of the Armenian Armed Forces.
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, the 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.