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The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has issued a statement in connection with an interview Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan gave to the Armenian media, Azernews reports.

“During his interview with the Armenpress news agency, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan tried to mislead and distort the essence of the negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the preparation of a peace agreement, the delimitation process, the mine threat, as well as the recognition of territorial integrity, which are completely unfounded and unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ayxan Hacizada said.

“The condition put forward by Armenia on the mandatory participation of the French president in the next meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders once again indicates that Armenia is unfaithful to its obligations and forgot that the agreement on the next meeting in the same format was reached not in Prague, but in Brussels on 31 August, the spokesperson said.

"Despite the agreement reached on the next meeting in Brussels, Azerbaijan agreed to a meeting in Prague, as well as the participation of EU Council President Charles Michel and the French president, which, unfortunately, led to abuse at the next stage of negotiations and demonstrates that France is a biased and unfair intermediary. Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan has not abandoned the talks between the leaders and is committed to continuing them in accordance with the agreement reached in Brussels,” the diplomat added.

He went on, adding that "as for the issue of the delimitation process, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry notes that, contrary to the statement of the Armenian foreign minister, the statements of both the Prague and Sochi meetings indicate that the delimitation is planned to be carried out on the basis of mutual recognition of territorial integrity and sovereignty, in accordance with the UN Charter and Alma-Ata Declaration. In general, the appeal to the UN Charter and the Alma-Ata Declaration was made in the context of the mentioned principles, and Armenia is well aware that at these meetings there were no provisions on the basis of which maps the delimitation will be carried out. The delimitation process should be carried out on the basis of an analysis of all legally significant documents".

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry also notes that "the Armenian foreign minister once again allows manipulations in the issue of the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan".

“We recommend that the foreign minister bring his position on this issue in line with the position of the Secretary of the Armenian Security Council Armen Grigoryan and other officials. As Armen Grigoryan stated, it was planned to withdraw the Armenian forces from the territory of Azerbaijan in September of this year, but this has not happened yet. As for the obligation on what forces should be withdrawn from the territory of Azerbaijan, we remind you once again that in accordance with paragraph 4 of the Trilateral Statement of 10 November 2020, it is provided for the withdrawal of all Armenian armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan, and manipulations in this matter are unacceptable,” the Foreign Ministry said in a comment.

It is also noted that the Armenian foreign minister in an interview refrained from giving a positive answer to the question of Armenia's recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

"Statements that as a result of a clash in September this year on an undelimited border due to the installation of mines by Armenia and provocations against military positions, Azerbaijan allegedly occupied the territory of Armenia, have no grounds," the statement says.

“It defies any logic that Armenia, which had occupied Azerbaijani territories for almost 30 years, still holds 8 villages of Azerbaijan under occupation, does not completely withdraw its forces from the territory of Azerbaijan, continues its military provocations and mine threats, accuses Azerbaijan of that he has taken up positions on the undelimited border and thus impedes the work of the commission. It should not be forgotten that after the Patriotic War of 2020, it was Armenia that for a long time did not respond to Azerbaijan’s proposal to delimit the borders,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry further adds.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry emphasizes that evasion of the obligations assumed, misinterpretation of the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, and destructive activities not only serve to restore peace in the region but are directed primarily against Armenia.

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