Baku, October 23, AZERTAC

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Charter of Paris and it provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the achievements and shortcomings of the implementation of the Paris approach of comprehensive, cooperative, equal and indivisible security. Now I will focus on the recent events. As we all are aware, recently yet another large-scale military provocation was committed by Armenia against the positions of the Azerbaijani Army along the entire length of the front and our human settlements located in the frontline zone. Armenian armed forces are attacking densely populated civilian areas in some cities of Azerbaijan with missiles and rockets. Since 27 September, tens of Azerbaijani civilians were killed and hundreds were wounded by fire opened by the armed forces of Armenia, as well as more than 1500 houses, tens of residential buildings, and more than 250 civil facilities destroyed. Isn’t it barbarism and vandalism? Unfortunately, it became like a regular standard procedure to attack the civilians with a heavy artillery for Armenian armed forces, says an article by Azerbaijani MP Ulviyya Aghayeva.

“We should not forget that as President Ilham Aliyev said, all responsibility lies on the political-military leadership of Armenia for this escalation. Unfortunately, Armenians trying their very best to misrepresent the situation on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and thus to mislead the international community. It is not in vain that Paris Charter declared 30 years ago that the era of confrontation and division in Europe has ended and a new era of democracy, peace and unity based on democratic governance, the rule of law and human rights among the participating States founded on respect and co-operation. However, threat or use of force against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another country is contradicting those above-mentioned principles. I think that the international community should realize the obligation to apply universal norms and principles to all conflict settlement processes without any exceptions. Otherwise, this situation of impunity towards aggressors fully contradict the ongoing efforts to bring durable peace and stability to the region.”

“Once again, I reiterate that unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan is acting in accordance with the right of self-defense and preventing another potential humanitarian catastrophe and protecting its civilian population. We find such destructive approach to be completely non-constructive, as it violates the spirit of the norms and principles of international law, the UN Security Council resolutions, Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe and other international documents.

Armenian government should act in solidarity with the full implementation of the principles and commitments of the OSCE enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris and OSCE documents instead of taking destructive illegal steps, which does not have any prospects” the article says.