Ambassador: Armenia's failure to reciprocate Azerbaijan's positive gestures is cause for concern

The lack of reciprocity for Azerbaijan's positive gestures towards normalizing relations with Armenia is a cause for concern, Pakistan's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan Qasim Mohiuddin said in an interview with Report.

“It is unfortunate and a cause of concern that Azerbaijan's positive gestures for normalization of relations with Armenia are not being reciprocated, even though Azerbaijan attained decisive and complete victory during the second Karabakh War in 2020 and the anti-terrorist operations in 2023,” the ambassador stated.

He added that it needs to be acknowledged and appreciated that Azerbaijan's successful implementation of its foreign policy and belief in peace and development is playing a crucial role not only for regional security and stability but also for the region's socio-economic development:

“I will take this opportunity to appreciate Azerbaijan's efforts, under the bold leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, to avoid an arms race with Armenia and instead focus on the reconstruction, return of refugees and economic development of the liberated territories.”

Mohiuddin further highlighted that efforts should be directed towards regional prosperity instead of an arms race.

“Unfortunately, the Armenian government ignores such advice that would benefit their own people as well. Armenia should understand that Azerbaijan does not want an arms race. Azerbaijan wants to direct its resources towards returning internally displaced people to their homeland, who were forced to flee due to Armenian occupation. However, Azerbaijan also has the right to self-defense,” he noted.

Read the full interview here.