No:031/23, Commentary on the speech of Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, at the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs

The speech of Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, on January 24 at the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs is a vivid example of hypocrisy.

The proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia to resolve the situation around the Lachin road through war is a serious threat. The warmongering by Armenian leaders is not new. Back in 2019, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that “Karabakh is Armenia,” and former Defense Minister Tonoyan announced the idea of “new war for new lands.” Foreign Minister Mirzoyan’s proposal for a military solution shows that Armenia has not learned from the history and still does not realize the consequences of the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories for 30 years. It is necessary to prevent adventurism of the Armenian side.

It seems that the lack of attention by the European Union and other international organizations, as well as the Parliaments to the undeniable facts presented by Azerbaijan to these institutions regarding Armenia’s gross violation of its obligations after the 2020 war (non-withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from our territories, continuing illegal activities on the territory of Azerbaijan, carrying out the rotation of military personnel by abusing Lachin road, continuing landmine threat in Azerbaijan, illegal exploitation of natural resources, creating conditions for the illegal passage of citizens of third countries into the territory of Azerbaijan, etc.), has once again emboldened the Armenian side. At the same time, it is clear that Armenian Foreign Minister’s speech is encouraged by statements of a number of international circles on the situation around the Lachin road that are false, do not support peace and incite revenge.

In general, Armenia’s reference to international law and international rules, turn to international organizations for intervention after Azerbaijan has liberated its territories from the occupation, is ludicrous, since it was Armenian side that, contrary to the norms and principles of international law, committed military aggression against the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan and carried out massacres, destroyed the occupied cities and hundreds of villages, carried out ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis, expelled hundreds of thousands of people from their native lands and did not comply with the 4 UN Security Council resolutions.

It is well known that Foreign Minister Mirzoyan’s views about Armenia’s participation in good faith in the negotiations on three tracks (opening of all communications, delimitation, signing of the peace treaty) initiated by Azerbaijan do not reflect the truth. After the proposals on the peace agenda were put forward, the Armenian side did not respond to our requests for months, did not take practical steps to advance the process, and continuously hindered the process with various pretexts.

Yet another allegation by Armenia that Azerbaijan demands an “extraterritorial corridor” are groundless. We once again remind that according to paragraph 9 of the Trilateral Statement, Armenia has an obligation to “establish a transport links between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in order to organize the unhindered movement of citizens, vehicles and goods in both directions.” Armenia has agreed to provide unhindered movement through its territory and must comply with this obligation. Similarly, it is surprising that Armenian side declared that Azerbaijan is not committed to the delimitation process, since it is Armenia that still occupies 8 villages and dozens of sq. kilometers territories of Azerbaijan.

Prevention of peace treaty under various pretexts, and creation of confusion about the essence of the negotiation process by overstressing certain elements by Armenia, who did not respond to Azerbaijan’s proposal to sign a peace agreement for more than eight months, conditioned the signing of the peace treaty with a delimitation process that usually takes a long time, and proposed the creation of a demilitarized zone in an undefined border region, is a matter of concern, and Armenia needs to reassess its steps.

It is unacceptable for a country, who has built its national policy on the basis of hatred against Azerbaijanis and Turks and has demonstrated it in all its actions, exterminated and deported all ethnic peoples living in its territory, to accuse Azerbaijan of hatred against Armenians.

Regarding the baseless claims that Azerbaijan’s aim is allegedly “ethnic cleansing” and “deportation” of Armenian residents, the Armenian side that has carried out ethnic cleansing and mass killings against hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis has no moral right to express an opinion on ensuring the rights of peoples.

In relation to the ideas repeatedly voiced by Armenia and repeated during the latest speech on the situation around the Lachin road it should be noted that the peaceful protests with the demand of prevention of the illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan’s natural resources, the transportation of these resources from Azerbaijan to Armenia, and against the misuse of the Lachin road, a sovereign territory of Azerbaijan that intended to be only for humanitarian purposes, is a legitimate right of Azerbaijanis. Illegal activities in the territories of Azerbaijan where Armenian residents live are a threat to the national security of Azerbaijan, and it is necessary to put an end to such activities.

Azerbaijan will continue to take all necessary measures to protect its national interests and security.