“The baseless accusations voiced by the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, during the panel discussions of the 6th Paris Peace Conference on November 10, 2023, once again demonstrate that the Armenian side does not abandon political manipulations and distorted interpretation,” the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said.
The statement strongly condemns and rejects the claims of the Prime Minister of Armenia that Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan were subjected to “ethnic cleansing.”
Armenia, which has violated the fundamental rights of up to a million Azerbaijanis through nearly 30 years of aggressive policy and committed unprecedented genocide and mass killings against Azerbaijanis, including children, women, and the elderly, has no moral right to accuse Azerbaijan of “ethnic cleansing.”
The statement reminds Prime Minister Pashinyan that the relocation of Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to Armenia based on personal decisions has nothing to do with forced resettlement. It reiterates that such baseless accusations directly contradict the reports and statements of representatives of specialized UN structures who visit the region and are actively working in Armenia.
The statement also criticizes the characterization of the Western Azerbaijan Community’s demand for a safe and dignified return to their native lands as “territorial claims” and “preparation for aggression” against Armenia by the Armenian Prime Minister. It highlights that the Armenian side completely rejected the proposal of the Western Azerbaijan Community for dialogue, thereby demonstrating its disinterest in peace and stability in the region.
Emphasizing the importance of recognizing sovereignty and territorial integrity, respecting the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991 in the matter of border demarcation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the principles of sovereignty, jurisdiction, and equality of countries for establishing transport and economic connections in the region, the statement notes that Armenia violated these principles for over 30 years. Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan proposed peace to Armenia based on 5 basic principles immediately after the 44-day war. However, Armenia continues to violate these principles with its claims against Azerbaijan.
The statement calls on the Armenian side, which continues to use aggressive defamatory rhetoric against Azerbaijan using various international platforms, to refrain from statements that harm the prospects for peace, and to use the created historical opportunities to transform the South Caucasus region into a space of peace and cooperation. It expresses hope that Armenia will adequately respond to Azerbaijan’s calls for the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the signing of a peace treaty in the near future.
