Azerbaijani MFA responds to Nikol Pashinyan

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded to the statement made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at a press conference on June 27, MFA told Report.

A number of statements made by Pashinyan at an online press conference on June 27, 2022, on the process of normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations call into question the country's desire to establish lasting peace in the region.

It does not fit into any legal or moral framework to accuse Azerbaijan of pursuing a policy of blockade over the years by the leader of a country that had been occupying part of Azerbaijan's territory for nearly thirty years and destroying it.

"We remind PM Pashinyan that Azerbaijan has been a supporter and initiator of the normalization of relations between the two countries after the liberation of its territories, despite the aggressive policy and the approach of 'destroying everything' applied by Armenia for decades. The President of Azerbaijan proposed to sign a peace agreement based on strict adherence to the principles of international law in the post-conflict phase. The Azerbaijani side even presented to the other side the fundamental principles on which the agreement should be based. If Azerbaijan wanted a war, as Pashinyan claims, these steps would probably not be needed. If Azerbaijan wanted a fight, it would not have made great efforts to rebuild and restore the territories destroyed by Armenia for 30 years.

"The Azerbaijani side not only makes so-called statements on the delimitation of borders between the two countries, the opening of all communications in the region, and the signing of a future peace agreement between the parties but also implements its actions and concrete steps. For many years, the Azerbaijani side has said that it would be beneficial for Armenia to establish normal relations in the region and open all communications. The fact that the Armenian side finally understands this and the PM's statement that 'the opening of communications is useful for Armenia' attracts attention as a new approach of the Armenian leadership. It seems that it will take some time for Armenia to accept the truth. We hope that there will not be much time for Armenia to understand the effectiveness of the Zangazur corridor, which has already become a reality.

"As for tripartite statements, the obligations assumed by the parties in this document and their fulfillment are obvious. Armenia, which sends sabotage forces to Azerbaijani territories, does not withdraw illegal armed formations from Azerbaijani territories and greatly slows down the opening of communications, grossly violates the implementation of these statements.

"The Armenian prime minister did not specify what he was referring to, saying that "the Azerbaijani side, at least once, boycotted the meeting". If we start listing the meetings that have been proposed so far with the participation of international mediators in the post-conflict phase and violated by Armenia under various pretexts, as well as postponed by provocations 1-2 hours before, the list will be very long.

"If Armenia really wants peace, it must show its political will and take concrete steps towards peace, rather than spending time reviving a format whose efficiency has always been low and whose members now openly acknowledge its impossibility," Azerbaijani MFA noted.