BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 22. Armenia is not interested in ensuring transparency on the Lachin-Khankendi road, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry comments on the statements of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Luxembourg Minister of European Affairs and Foreign Affairs Jan Asselborn, Trend reports citing Azerbaijani MFA.
"We strongly condemn the statements made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and the Minister of European Affairs and Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg Jan Asselborn during a joint press briefing on February 22.
As always, the Armenian Foreign Minister distorts discussions and negotiations on the peace process and engages in manipulation. With its statement, the Armenian side once again demonstrates that it is not interested in peace in the region.
The assessment of the Azerbaijani side’s proposal to establish a border checkpoint in order to prevent the abuse of the Lachin road in connection with the exploitation of Azerbaijan’s natural resources, the illegal rotation of the Armenian armed forces, the import of mines and ammunition, the illegal entry of persons from other countries to Azerbaijan, once again demonstrates that Armenia is not interested in ensuring transparency on the Lachin road," the ministry noted.
The MFA reported that the rejection of the Armenian side of the proposal for a border checkpoint that would stop the illegal use of the Lachin road, which was intended only for humanitarian purposes, once again shows that the true intention of the Armenian side is to continue using the road for illegal purposes contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, repeating its statements that the protests led to a "blockade" and a "tense humanitarian situation." This proves once again that, in fact, the claims that the protest on the Lachin road created a "humanitarian situation" have no basis, and Armenia uses this claim only for its political purposes.
"With regard to the international mechanism regarding the rights and security of residents of Armenian origin living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, as well as Armenia's claims in the issue of dialogue with Armenian residents, we would like to note that, as clearly stated in the Munich negotiations, the rights and security of residents of Armenian origin living in the region will be provided in accordance with the Constitution and legislative acts of Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani side also stated that it is ready to conduct a dialogue with representatives who have the right to represent residents of Armenian origin, and not with those who arrive in the Karabakh region from outside and represent themselves as representatives of Armenian residents. In accordance with the norms and principles of international law, as well as the Prague and Sochi agreements, in which countries mutually recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, Armenia should not interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan and renounce its territorial claims.
The preconceived position of the Luxembourg minister is completely unfounded, without knowledge of the situation in the region and completely contrary to the relevant principles of international law. It seems that the Luxembourg side still has not abandoned the practice of using theses that reflect the false propaganda of the Armenian side. We reiterate that such provocative and biased statements cannot be an obstacle to the future development and progress of the region based on the principles of international law," the ministry added.