Azernews.Az

We, as the Western Azerbaijan Community, strongly condemn the fact that the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on September 2, 2023, expressed a territorial claim against the Republic of Azerbaijan by addressing a congratulatory address on the anniversary of the "Declaration of Independence of Nagorno-Karabakh". This position of the Prime Minister, in addition to disrespecting the norms and principles of international law, shows an immeasurable level of hypocrisy in the politics of this country.

Azernews reports that these views were reflected in the statement issued by the Western Azerbaijan Community.

The statement reads:

"It is disgusting that Armenia, which expelled all Azerbaijanis from its territory and the Azerbaijani lands which it invaded and pursues a notorious mono-ethnic policy, accuses Azerbaijan of intending ethnic cleansing. Armenia has no moral right to talk about humanitarian issues and human rights.

It should be recalled that Armenia did not allow Azerbaijani IDPs to return to their homes for 30 years until the invading Armenian army was defeated and removed from the territory of Azerbaijan in 2020. In addition, Armenia still does not allow the return of the Azerbaijani refugees it expelled from its territory. Likewise, Azerbaijani IDPs who were evicted from settlements such as Khankendi, Khojaly, Karkijahan, Meshali, and Garadaghli of the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan still cannot return to their homes.

Azerbaijan, however, made it possible for Armenians to return safely to the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan immediately after the 2020 war and is currently trying to re-integrate them. In addition, Armenians live in Azerbaijani territories outside the Karabakh region as full-fledged citizens of Azerbaijan

We would like to emphasize that it is Armenia's obligation under international law and the Tripartite Declaration to provide conditions for the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia.

With the full restoration of control over its borders by Azerbaijan on April 23, 2023, the true face of Armenia was revealed. Prime Minister Pashinyan's recent statement openly supporting separatism shows that his statements about recognizing the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan were only aimed at wasting time to complete the large-scale armament program currently being carried out by Armenia and to maximally strengthen its military presence in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region.

Excited by the "humanitarian aid" show organized by a number of French cities and the so-called reports and opinions of people like Luis Ocampo, who approach issues from the perspective of religious fanaticism, the Prime Minister of Armenia made the situation in the region even more tense with this statement and actually destroyed the peace negotiation process. In this sense, N. Pashinyan's latest statement reminds me of his statement about 4 years ago "Karabakh is Armenia and the point".

We demand that the Armenian government stop its illegal, destructive, and dangerous actions and its plans against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. The international community should condemn the latest statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia.

The Armenian government can be sure that the Western Azerbaijani Community will use all political and legal means to ensure the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to their homes within the framework of international mechanisms, under appropriate guarantees, and after their return, to ensure their individual and collective rights."

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