BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 9. Hyping up the myth about an imminent threat from Azerbaijan, Armenia still continues to "de facto” encroach on territorial integrity of our country, remarked Elchin Amirbayov, the Representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on special assignments, in his interview with RFE/RL radio, Trend reports.
An article by RFE/RL correspondent Joshua Kucera delving into the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan highlights the recent trend of Baku and Yerevan favoring direct bilateral contacts due to a lack of trust in various mediators. These direct engagements have already begun to yield tangible results, notably demonstrated by the agreement reached last December for the release of detainees and mutual diplomatic support in preparation for the COP29 international climate conference in Baku.
"Armenia and Azerbaijan are already mature and capable enough to resolve the remaining issues between themselves, and progress in this direction is well underway," emphasized Elchin Amirbekov against the backdrop of the prevailing opinion that persistent interference from major external players could turn the peace agreement into a stage for geopolitical competition between two opposing blocs.
The President`s representative labelled as "complete nonsense" the recent statement by the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in which he pointed to Azerbaijan`s territorial claims against Armenia and called on Baku to return to substantive negotiations with Iravan.
"Accusations against Azerbaijan of purported territorial claims against Armenia are nothing more than a failed and futile attempt to shift blame on someone else. It is enough to look at the current Constitution of Armenia and the reference therein to the declaration of independence of this country, which enshrines the arbitrary and absolutely illegitimate decision on the so-called 'reunification of the Armenian SSR with Nagorno-Karabakh," noted Elchin Amirbekov.
In conclusion, the Representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on special assignments highlighted many such concrete facts, mentioning the official website of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, which still presents the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as an integral part of historical Armenia.
“We have repeatedly brought all our above-mentioned concerns to the attention of the Armenian side, but, unfortunately, no concrete actions aimed at their elimination have been taken by them so far.
Alongside the remaining territorial claims against our country, the deliberate spreading of ridiculous rumours about the imminent threat from Azerbaijan is not only a trick, but also a path to nowhere," Elchin Amirbayov added.