Baku, March 15, AZERTAC

“Completely groundless allegations that grossly distort historical facts made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against Azerbaijan during the press conference are another blow to the process of establishing peace in the region,” said head of the Press Service Department of Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada as he responded to the media question regarding the groundless allegations made by Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan during the press conference on March 14, 2023.

“The anti-Azerbaijan campaign carried out by Prime Minister N. Pashinyan while reneging on his promises and commitments on various international platforms until now, including the rhetoric that undermines the negotiations on the peace agreement and the efforts of international mediators does not foreshadow a bright future for Armenia.

Armenian Prime Minister's denial of the fact that Azerbaijanis have forcibly been expelled from their lands in the territory of Armenia indicates his intention to justify the systematic and purposeful policy of ethnic cleansing carried out by Armenia for decades.

The killings of the peaceful Azerbaijanis living in the territory of Armenia, the brutal massacres committed against them, and the forced relocation of the population through threats is a historical fact. Despite the provocative allegations of Armenia, it would be enough for the Prime Minister to get acquainted with the changes in the ratio of the Azerbaijani and Armenian population in the region in order to have a complete idea of the extent of violence and deportation against the Azerbaijani population in the current territory of Armenia. It is well known that no traces were left intact of Azerbaijanis that were once majority percentage-wise in the current territories of Armenia and this was part of an organized and purposeful policy.

Armenian leadership's denial of the right of Azerbaijanis to return to their native lands in a safe and dignified manner, its opposition to the call to the dialogue of the Western Azerbaijan Community, which includes hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis, to the Armenian leadership in this direction, presenting the demand for these rights as a "territorial claim" is indicative of Armenia's insidious policy of protecting “the title of a mono-ethnic state based on ethnic cleansing” that does not value “human rights”.

It is unacceptable for the Prime Minister of Armenia to again try to intervene in the issue of dialogue with Armenian residents, to make provocative statements against the internationally recognized sovereignty of Azerbaijan over the Karabakh region and its territorial integrity, and to use expressions such as "the nation and government of Karabakh".

The fact of Armenia ignoring the position of Azerbaijan that the discussion on the reintegration of residents of Armenian origin is an internal affair of Azerbaijan and that other states have no role in this matter indicates that it has not given up the policy of aggression that it started against Azerbaijan in the early 90s under the guise of the principle of “self-determination of peoples”. The Prime Minister of Armenia should understand that the rights of the Armenian residents of the Karabakh region can never prevail over the rights of the Azerbaijani population of the region, and Azerbaijan applies and will only apply an equal approach to the different ethnic peoples living in its territory.

Armenia, having not complied with any agreements and any of its commitments so far, accusing Azerbaijan of denying imaginary agreements, claiming that Azerbaijan will allegedly escalate the situation in the border regions is only a step aimed at covering up Armenia's possible military provocations.

Armenia’s opposition to the clauses excluding territorial claims against Azerbaijan in the text of the peace agreement, it creating an opportunity for future violations even while the text of the agreement is being prepared, hiding these non-constructive approaches and coming up with ideas such as "international mechanisms" and "international guarantee institution" is an indication that Armenia is not interested in a peace agreement.

Also, the fact that Armenia, refusing to negotiate a peace agreement in December of last year, opposes the mediation efforts of the European Union with various excuses demonstrates that it has not given up its practice of creating obstacles to negotiations during the nearly 30-yearlong occupation period.

The fact that Armenia’s readiness to sign the draft in which only Armenia's proposals were mentioned and Azerbaijan's proposals were not taken into account was declared by the Prime Minister of Armenia during the briefing is another proof of his indifference to the peace process, and we believe that these destructive activities of Armenia should be condemned by the international community and be prevented,” Hajizada added.