No:008/22, Head of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdullayeva answers the media's question regarding the statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry on the "massacre of Armenians in Baku"

Answer: The absolutely unfounded and fabricated statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry about the alleged massacre against the Armenian population in Baku in January 1990 is a pure propaganda aimed at hiding the genocide historically carried out by the Armenian side against the civilian population of Azerbaijan, the policy of ethnic cleansing, the brutal murder of 613 civilians in city ​​of Khojaly in one night.​

It should be noted with regret that the narratives in which Armenians are presented as victims have been the ideological basis of Armenian nationalism for decades, which has given impetus to Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan and led to a devastating conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan that has caused great suffering to hundreds of thousands of people. At a time when the issue of normalization of post-conflict interstate relations is being discussed, the Armenian Foreign Ministry's repeated baseless and destructive statements show that the opposite side is not trying to normalize relations, but is poisoning its society with harmful ideas. And this causes regret and is equally dangerous.​

As for the so-called "pogroms" of Armenians in Azerbaijan, the investigation materials, as well as the irrefutable observations of a number of independent international organizations prove that in fact these were provocative acts prepared by the Soviet special services in the context of the growing struggle for independence and sovereignty of the Azerbaijani people. We recall that since the late 1980s, Armenia's open territorial claims against Azerbaijan have been accompanied by a campaign of massacres, torture and persecution, and the forcible deportation of about 250,000 Azerbaijanis from their historical lands in the Armenian SSR as a result of systematic targeting of ethnic Azerbaijanis.

Unfortunately, to date, no one has been prosecuted for these and many other crimes committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis.​

As it is known, on the night of January 19-20, 1990, the Soviet army committed a massacre of peaceful Azerbaijanis, and the responsibility for this crime lies with the former Soviet leadership. The events of January 1990 did not break the determination of the Azerbaijani people to independence, and our country restored its independence.​

Rather than unjustifiably accuse Azerbaijan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry must acknowledge that it has grossly violated the fundamental rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis for decades as part of a policy of ethnic cleansing personally approved by their former presidents and a policy of aggression lasting nearly 30 years. It should admit for bringing the perpetrators to justice and preventing such crimes in the future.