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Abbas Ganbay

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"Some member states of the European Union (EU), such as France, have started a programme of militarisation of Armenia," Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, said this in an address to journalists in Brussels, Azernews reports.

The official said that these militarisation programmes are not true.

"Firstly, we don't think that any militarisation programme is useful. Armenia does not need a militarisation programme. Armenia needs a peace programme," he said.

H. Hajiyev also spoke about Azerbaijanophobia and Islamophobia in some Western circles: "It is also not very useful for the EU's ambitions and interests in regional resources. We have also taken into account the unnecessary statement of the Council of Europe, which contains unnecessary criticism of Azerbaijan... European institutions have never been fair to Azerbaijan when the territories of Azerbaijan were under occupation.

The Head of the Foreign Policy Department said that the relevant European institutions should be part of the solution: "We have always advised member countries, such as France, not to support separatism on the territory of Azerbaijan. Secondly, do not send unnecessary messages about supporting revanchism in Armenia and stop propaganda of unnecessary geopolitical games in our region. Unfortunately, these are the facts.

We believe that this is a historic opportunity and a historic impetus, and the relevant European institutions should be part of the solution, not the problem, to promote a peaceful agenda in the region of social crisis."

According to the presidential aide, the issue of peace and normalisation of bilateral relations between Baku and Yerevan is on Azerbaijan's agenda: "The illegal regime of Armenia has been disarmed and removed from the territory of Azerbaijan. This means that there are no obstacles to the conclusion of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

We believe that this is a historic opportunity to change the chapter of enmity and hostility between the two countries and create a lasting peace based on the five fundamental principles proposed by Azerbaijan to the Armenian side. "Azerbaijan has created a model for solving one of the most protracted conflicts on the map of Eurasia."

Hajiyev recalled that the OSCE failed to solve the Garabagh issue: "The Minsk Group failed: the co-chairmanship of the Minsk Group failed because the mission of this institution was to protect and continue Armenia's occupation policy against Azerbaijan."

According to H. Hajiyev, the era of occupation and injustice is behind us: "Therefore, the issue of peace and normalisation of bilateral relations between Baku and Yerevan is on the agenda of Azerbaijan. However, any commitment to peace requires both sides to fulfil their obligations, and Armenia must also play its role, and show positivity and goodwill. We have already submitted the revised fifth version of the peace agreement to the Armenian side, but more than two months have passed and they have not yet responded. At present, new realities have emerged in the region. These new realities are based on legality and legitimacy".

Later, Hajiyev also touched upon Azerbaijan's future policy towards Armenia: "We would like to create a new regional security architecture based on the principles of justice in the region, recognising each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty and putting an end to all territorial claims against each other".

He noted that Baku supports mutual contacts between the two countries: "I think we should come to a peace agreement. Other partners can also support this agreement. First of all, peace and regional security is not in Brussels, Paris, Washington, Moscow or anywhere else. Peace is in the region itself."

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