Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Armenia’s longstanding destructive position contrary to international law has dragged the country into an abyss, Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry has stated.

The ministry made the remark commenting on a recent interview of Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan to Armenian media on trilateral statement between presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and prime minister of Armenia to stop the hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, dated on November 10.

“The Armenian Foreign Minister must return to the reality from the fictional world, no matter how difficult it may be. Armenia’s longstanding destructive position contrary to international law has dragged the country into an abyss. The Armenian government must draw conclusions from the recent events and accept the new reality in the region,” the ministry stated.

The ministry underlined that unlike the leadership of Armenia, Azerbaijani President is well aware of what each signed document serves, not only at the current stage, but also in the long term.

“The head of the stated demonstrates this not only with his words, but also with his concrete actions,” the ministry added.

Furthermore, the ministry emphasized that Azerbaijan ensured implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and restored its territorial integrity. In addition, the statement stresses that a new format of security and cooperation was established in the region by a joint statement signed also by Armenian prime minister on November 10.

“As for the exchange of prisoners and hostages, we remind the Armenian Foreign Minister that for many years the Armenian side ignored Azerbaijan’s initiative to exchange ‘everyone for everyone’. Now the acceptance of this principle by Armenia is part of this changing reality,” the statement reads.

The ministry added that Azerbaijan has always strictly adhered to the principles of international humanitarian law, acted in accordance with the principles of humanism and unilaterally transferred Armenian prisoners and bodies to the other side even during military operations.

“Instead of interpreting the joint statement of November 10 in its own way, the fulfillment of the issues arising from it by the Armenian side would serve to establish the long-awaited peace in the region," the ministry added.

Azerbaijan and Armenia were locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. The clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed after Armenia launched large-scale attacks on Azerbaijani forces and civilians on September 27. Armenia had been targeting Azerbaijani densely populated cities and settlements, located far from the conflict zone, and strategically important objects and facilities.

The 44 days of war ended with the Russian brokered peace deal signed on November 10 by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders. The peace agreement became effective envisages the de-occupation of Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions by December 1 as well as the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven adjacent regions under the control of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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