Klaar, who has been appointed as the EU Ambassador to Uzbekistan, claimed in an August 4 interview with “JAM News” that the return of the “Armenians of Karabakh” is the responsibility of Azerbaijan, while the return of forcibly expelled Azerbaijanis from Armenia depends on the results of the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization process.
Aliyev emphasized that it is unacceptable for Klaar to consider the return of Armenians, who voluntarily migrated from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to Armenia and other countries, as a special case, while conditioning the right of return of forcibly expelled Azerbaijanis on political developments. He stressed that it is Armenia’s obligation to create conditions for the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis to their native lands, and the international community must demand the fulfillment of this obligation.
The Deputy Spokesperson also pointed out that despite repeated appeals from the Azerbaijani side for Armenian residents to stay in their homes and return, Armenians have shown no intention of returning to Azerbaijan’s sovereign territories. In this regard, Azerbaijan respects the intention of returning only those of Armenian origin who respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country.
Aliyev expressed regret that such biased statements by an EU official, who is about to leave his office, undermine the reputation of the institution he represents.
