"As it is known, the illegal activities of the aggressor Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh and our surrounding territories, as well as the policy of illegal settlement, are raised by us within the framework of international organizations."
The statement came from Leyla Abdullayeva, head of the Foreign Ministry's press service, commenting on some media reports about the resettlement of Lebanese of Armenian origin in Lebanon after the explosion in Lebanon.
According to him, Armenia is using the situation in the region for its own nefarious purposes and attempts to illegally settle the Armenian population in some Middle Eastern countries in the internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan:
"The fact of illegal settlement by Armenia was also recorded in the reports of the OSCE fact-finding missions. Of course, these actions of Armenia are a gross violation of international humanitarian law, as well as the 1949 Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols.
The goal of the occupying Armenia is to artificially increase the number of Armenians in these lands, to change the ethnic and cultural features of the territories, and thus to implement an annexation policy.
The Foreign Ministry official said that our serious dissatisfaction with Armenia's policy of illegal settlement in the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, including Armenia's intention to use the tragedy in Lebanon for its own purposes, was raised before the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
"Armenia must understand that these illegal activities and attempts at artificial settlement will not yield the expected results. The Azerbaijani population of occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas will return to their homes and property, and the occupying Armenia will be held accountable for all its illegal actions.
Our demand to put an end to Armenia's purposeful settlement policy in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan will continue to be firmly raised before the international community.