Foreign Ministry releases statement on occupation of Azerbaijan's Shusha

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement on the 28th anniversary of the occupation of the city of Shusha by armed forces of Armenia, Report says.

The statement reads:

As part of a systematic policy of aggression of the Republic of Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan, a historical Azerbaijani city of Shusha was occupied by armed forces of Armenia on May 8, 1992. As a result of the occupation, Shusha city and 30 villages of Shusha district destroyed, 195 innocent civilians killed, 165 wounded, and 58 persons went missing, more than 24.000 inhabitants of Shusha were subjected to ethnic cleansing.

The tangible cultural and spiritual heritage of the Azerbaijani people has been severely damaged as a result of the occupation of Shusha, a city of exceptional historical, cultural, religious and symbolic significance for the people of Azerbaijan and known as "Cradle of the Azerbaijani music," "Conservatory of the Orient." More than 170 buildings with the status of an architectural monument, 160 cultural and historical monuments, mosques, and many rare manuscripts were destroyed and subjected to vandalism in Shusha. "Imarat of Panah khan complex" and library, Khan Palace and Karvansaray, Ashaghy Govharagha and Saatly Mosques, Mausoleum of Vagif, Natavan's House and many others are among them.

The aggressor state Armenia, following the ethnic cleansing conducted in the course of Shusha's occupation, in contradiction to the requirements of international humanitarian law, destroys the historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan and gradually changes the cultural image of the city. Thus, thousands of people have been illegally resettled in Shusha. The Yukhary Govheraga (Juma) Mosque, built by order of Govharaga, the daughter of Karabakh ruler Ibrahim Khan, is "restored" by the Armenians and presented as a Persian one. All these demonstrate the intentions of the occupiers to shadow the fact that Shusha is a prominent Azerbaijani city.

But the Armenian side has to understand that all these attempts have no prospects, the occupation is temporary. The Nagorno-Karabakh is an internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan, this region has always been and will remain an inalienable part of Azerbaijan.

According to the position of all international organizations and states of the world, in particular, the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as an integral part of Azerbaijan, and immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of occupying forces from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is demanded.

Azerbaijan is the most interested party in the soonest negotiated settlement of the conflict and ensuring lasting peace in the region. The objective of the ongoing negotiations process on the solution of the conflict is to ensure the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts of Azerbaijan, the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders and the return of IDPs to their homes. The achievement of that objective is a must, not a compromise. Azerbaijan considers no political solution to the conflict beyond this framework and participates in the settlement process based on this understanding.

If the negotiations fail to bring as an outcome the ending occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia, Azerbaijan retains its inherent rights under the UN Charter to ensure the restoration of its sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders.