BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 3. Attempts of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to confuse the international community, regarding the activities of the Lachin border checkpoint, and issues of territorial integrity and delimitation, indicate the Armenian side's intentions to escalate the situation instead of making a positive contribution to the process of normalizing relations with Azerbaijan, the country's Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports.
The ministry made the remark in response to Pashinyan's statements at the Armenian government meeting held on August 3.
"The provocations made by Nikol Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia, regarding the June 15 shelling of the Armenian side by Azerbaijani border guards who were raising the Azerbaijani flag on the Hakari bridge, which was constructed on Azerbaijan's sovereign territory, show that Armenia is once more justified in its provocations.".
Furthermore, it is unjustified to assert that Azerbaijan reportedly obstructed the Lachin road. The inadmissibility of goods transportation by automobiles from Armenia to Azerbaijan without our nation's consent has been a point of ongoing focus for Azerbaijan. Armenia, however, has a history of transporting weapons under cover of "humanitarian cargo" as well as a number of other illegal shipments.
The operations of the Lachin border crossing are governed by Azerbaijan and are crucial for policing access to and departure from the Lachin road, which Armenia has been using illegally on our territory for the past three years. The fact that the International Court of Justice unanimously rejected the same argument in its ruling on July 6.
Furthermore, the ongoing territorial claims against Azerbaijan, the so-called regime's propaganda, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's assertion that the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991 defines the borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia and that it was adopted as the basis for delimitation were both confirmed at the Prague meeting on October 6, 2022. They show that Armenia is not devoted to territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as the process of delimitation, as a result of its occupation of Azerbaijani territory.
The Armenian side must remember that there are no restrictions in international humanitarian law that would prevent the execution of necessary measures against war criminals in the case of Vagif Khachatryan's arrest, who committed a crime against humanity. In compliance with Azerbaijani legislation and international law, this person was detained. The Armenian side should assist attempts to prosecute individuals who carried out mass executions and crimes against humanity, including genocide against Azerbaijanis, during the nearly 30-year occupation, as opposed to defending and covering up their conduct.
"The Armenian side should refrain from such provocative actions and support the use of the Aghdam-Khankendi road and other alternative routes proposed by the Azerbaijani side to meet the needs of the Armenian residents of Karabakh if it is truly interested in peace and stability in the region and supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan in words as well as in deeds. The ministry emphasized that the Armenian side should not obstruct Azerbaijan's attempts to reintegrate the Armenian citizens of Karabakh," said the ministry.