Azerbaijan condemns Armenia's portrayal of anti-terror measures as 'ethnic cleansing'

Labeling by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia of the local counter-terrorism measures aimed at disarming and completely forcing out the remnants of the armed forces of Armenia from the Karabakh economic region of our country, and restoring the sovereignty and constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan in those territories, as an attack against “Nagorno-Karabakh” and “ethnic cleansing,” is unacceptable, Spokesman for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada said on the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia of 19 September.

"Despite presenting itself as a peaceful country, Armenia’s calling Garabagh, the ancient and eternal land of Azerbaijan, with fictional names such as “Nagorno-Karabakh” is a clear example of disrespect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," he noted, Report informs, citing the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan.

"The counter-terrorism measures carried out in our sovereign territories in less than 24 hours by our Armed Forces on 19-20 September 2023 were in full compliance with international law, including international humanitarian law. Azerbaijan’s restoration of sovereignty over its lands, in addition to constituting one of the most glorious pages of our history, is a triumph of international law and justice.

"It was well-known that despite the defeat of Armenia in the 2020 Patriotic War and over the three years, until 2023, contrary to the obligations it accepted, Armenia not only had not withdrawn its illegal armed groups from the Garabakh region of Azerbaijan, but even transferred additional weaponry, ammunition, military equipment, landmines to Azerbaijani territories. Armenia, which continued landmine terror against our country, even further expanded this threat over time. Armenia’s officials were propagating the puppet regime they kept in our territories by all means, and the Prime Minister of Armenia congratulated the separatist regime on the so-called “independence” on 2 September 2023.

"The major condition was to counter such exceeding any boundaries behavior of Armenia, which did not give up its unfounded claims against the territories of Azerbaijan laid within the historical and international legal framework, and falsification of history, grossly violated the principles of international law and did not draw conclusions from the miserable situation it had fallen in due to its policy of aggression.

"On 19 September 2023, the death of 6 Azerbaijani citizens as a result of the terror act committed by the Armenian armed forces exhausted Azerbaijan’s patience and made counter-terrorism measures inevitable.

"Despite the inflammatory efforts and propaganda of the Armenian side, during the counter-terrorism measures the civilian population was not targeted, the civil infrastructure was not damaged, and only legitimate military infrastructure and facilities were destroyed. Notwithstanding numerous calls from the Azerbaijani side not to leave their places of residence, despite the launched reintegration program, Armenian residents decided to leave the territories of Azerbaijan. It was their free choice, and to label it as an “ethnic cleansing” shows the hypocrisy of Armenia, which has mass-evicted Azerbaijanis from Armenia and occupied Azerbaijani territories, committing genocide and massacres.

"With the complete restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and state sovereignty, a historic opportunity has emerged for the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and consequently for the signing of a final peace agreement. Thus, while Azerbaijan is the initiator of the peace process for the sake of the security and progress of our region and has been making genuine efforts in this direction, maintaining claims against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in the Armenian Constitution and other legislative acts is unacceptable, and for the historical peace opportunity not to be missed by Armenia necessary and adequate measures must be taken as soon as possible to eliminate the mentioned claims.

"On this historically important day for the people and state of Azerbaijan, we once again commemorate with deep respect the dear memory of sons and daughters of the homeland who sacrificed their lives for the independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.

"We are proud of our glorious Armed Forces, and we wish our state and people a lasting victory!" Aykhan Hajizada said.