The Foreign Ministry's Press Service commented on the statement made by the Armenian Foreign Minister during a briefing in Moscow.
According to the ministry, the statement made by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan during his official visit to the Russian Federation traditionally reflects a number of untrue points:
"These points are aimed at misrepresenting the situation around the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and thus distracting the international community."
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reminds that the current political and military leadership of Armenia has been taking purposeful steps to aggravate the situation around the conflict over the past two years:
"These steps consist of provocative statements and other measures that seriously damage the negotiation process and put it in a deadlock," he said. These include numerous practical steps to strengthen the illegal consequences of Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan and the continued military occupation of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territories.
The most obvious examples of this are the phrase "Karabakh is Armenia, the point", the military concept of "new war for new territories", the military provocation in the direction of Tovuz on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in July 2020, the settlement of Lebanese Armenians in the occupied territories.
The attack launched by the Armenian armed forces against Azerbaijan on September 27 is the next step in the destructive policy pursued to increase tensions. As a sovereign state, the Republic of Azerbaijan has taken appropriate steps within the framework of the right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
As a result, a number of Azerbaijani territories were liberated from Armenian occupation. Unfortunately, the Armenian side has traditionally resorted to terrorist tactics and intensively fired on the civilian population and civilian infrastructure of Azerbaijan, including settlements and people far from the conflict zone. Since September 27, 42 Azerbaijani civilians have been killed and 206 wounded as a result of Armenian fire, and 1,479 houses, 66 apartment buildings and 241 infrastructure facilities have been destroyed.
Demonstrating goodwill, the Azerbaijani side responded positively to the appeals of the Russian Federation, attended a meeting of three ministers in Moscow and held constructive talks there. The Azerbaijani side declared its commitment to the humanitarian ceasefire agreed at the meeting and instructed the armed forces.
However, the Armenian side has chosen a very different path. His armed forces fired mortars at a group of Azerbaijani doctors who were collecting the bodies of Armenian servicemen near the Sugovushan area of Azerbaijan's Tartar region.
As a result, one Azerbaijani medical staff was seriously injured. In addition, on October 11, at 2 am, the Armenian armed forces fired a ballistic missile at Ganja, the second largest city in Azerbaijan. The rocket destroyed a high-rise apartment building. Ten civilians were killed and many others, including children, were injured.
Armenia's diplomatic actions after the Moscow meeting are also in sight. The final statement of the Moscow meeting reaffirms its commitment to the current negotiation format and includes the start of substantive talks based on fundamental principles.
The Azerbaijani side stated its readiness to start talks as soon as possible.
The Armenian side, in turn, immediately began to make statements that unilaterally and inaccurately interpreted the statement of the Moscow meeting, reflecting the slogans of self-determination and recognition of the illegal regime created by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani side considers such an approach completely unconstructive, as it violates the norms and principles of international law, UN Security Council resolutions, OSCE resolutions, as well as the statement of the Moscow meeting.
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