Armenian FM shamelessly speaks of security - Azerbaijani MFA

Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva has commented on the recent statement by the Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.

According to her, the UN Charter of 1945, the OSCE Helsinki Final Act of 1975, and the Charter of Paris of 1990 set out the norms and principles of the international law, as well as including the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and self-determination of peoples.

"Like Azerbaijan, Armenia is also a full-fledged participant in these documents. The member countries must refrain from the use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of other states," she noted.

"Regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Armenia, in violation of the obligations mentioned above and using military force against neighboring Azerbaijan, has occupied one-fifth of its internationally recognized territories and exposed more than one million Azerbaijanis living in those lands to ethnic cleansing. In such a situation, the foreign minister of Armenia, an occupying country, shamelessly speaks about security problems. What kind of security can we talk about in a state of military occupation? One country's occupation of another country's territories is itself a constant source of danger. At a time when one-third of Karabakh's population has been expelled from their homes and deprived of the opportunity to return home and demonstrate the free will for the future of their region for nearly 30 years, one cannot talk about the safety of the people of Karabakh or the demonstration of free will," Abdullayeva said.

"As for the statement the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made on April 21 on the approach towards a step-by-step solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, I can confirm that all OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have demonstrated this approach and voiced such a position repeatedly and consistently at all stages and all levels of the conflict settlement process," said the Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

"We should remember that the occupation is temporary. The sooner Armenia realizes this and refrains from deceiving itself and its people, as well as misleading the international community, the more chance it will have to prevent bloodshed and the worsening of an already tense situation," she added.

Earlier, in response to a statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, the Armenian foreign minister, said that Azerbaijani territories would not be freed from occupation, denied and rejected the proposals on a phased settlement of the conflict made within the framework of negotiations.