Baku, February 23, AZERTAC

We strongly condemn the statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn during a joint press briefing on February 22, the press service of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“The Armenian foreign minister, as always, distorts the peace negotiations by manipulating. By its statement, the Armenian side once again demonstrates that it is not interested in peace in the region.

The assessment of the proposal by the Azerbaijani side to establish a border checkpoint in order to prevent the abuse of the Lachin road regarding the exploitation of Azerbaijan’s natural resources, the illegal rotation of the Armenian armed forces, the transportation of mines and ammunition, the illegal entry of third country nationals to Azerbaijan, once again demonstrates that Armenia is not interested in ensuring transparency on the Lachin road.

The Armenian side’s rejection of the proposal regarding the 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, by repeating statements that the protests led to a "blockade" and a "tense humanitarian situation." This once again proves 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.

As to the international mechanism regarding the rights and security of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, as well as Armenia's claims on 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 ensured in accordance with the Constitution and legislative acts of Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani side also declared that it is ready to conduct a dialogue with representatives who have the right to represent Armenian residents, 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 biased position of Luxembourg minister, which was put forward without knowledge of situation in the region and is completely contrary to the relevant principles of international law, is completely unfounded. 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 undermine the future development and progress of the region based on the principles of international law," the ministry added.