BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20. By distorting the content of a number of negotiations with Azerbaijan during the second Karabakh war and in general during the period of occupation, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan once again pointed to Armenia's refusal to stop the occupation of Azerbaijani territories despite calls, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry told Trend.
The ministry made the remark commenting on Pashinyan's speech in Armenian parliament on June 20.
The Armenian Prime Minister's denial of missile attacks on densely populated Azerbaijani cities outside the war zone and the killing of civilians immediately after every negotiation and humanitarian ceasefire during the second Karabakh war further demonstrates how the Armenian side distorts the facts, said the ministry.
"As for the allegations that Azerbaijan allegedly since 2011 "escalated the situation by increasing armaments and committing provocations", it should be noted that since the occupation of the territories, Azerbaijan made efforts to liberate its lands through negotiations based on the decisions and resolutions of the UN Security Council and a number of other international organizations," the ministry said.
"Despite all this, everyone knows that the acts of aggression and provocations committed by Armenia over the years, including the provocative rhetoric personally demonstrated by Prime Minister Pashinyan in 2018-2019, did not contribute to peace and led to war in 2020," the ministry added.
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 Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
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 prime minister, and the president of Russia.