Artsakh Can Never Be Part of Azerbaijan Under Any Status – Armenia’s MFA

YEREVAN — The ministry of foreign affairs of Armenia released a statement regarding the April four day war of 2016.

“It has been a year since Azerbaijan’s April aggression.

During four days of April 2016 Azerbaijan conducted the same type of aggressive actions and barbarism against population of Artsakh, that it had carried out for about four years in the beginning of 1990s, when it had tried to deprive the people of Nagorno-Karabakh from their right to live in their homeland and to exercise their right to self-determination.

We pay tribute to the memory of all heroes who fell repelling the attack of Azerbaijan against Artsakh and who gave their lives to prevent mass atrocities against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

While the international community was condemning the gross violations of International Humanitarian Law by the Azerbaijani armed forces, Baku was praising the acts of barbarism and their perpetrators.

Azerbaijan’s adventurism severely damaged the peace process.

On May 16 in Vienna, upon the initiative of the US Secretary of State, and on June 20 in St. Petersburg, at the invitation of the President of Russia, the meetings of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place aimed at stabilizing the situation, preventing new escalation and creation of conditions conducive to the advancement of the negotiation process. As an outcome of those meetings it was emphasized that it is necessary to settle the conflict exclusively through peaceful means, to strictly adhere to the 1994-1995 trilateral ceasefire agreements, which have no time limitations. It was agreed to establish in the shortest possible time an investigation mechanism for ceasefire violations and to expand the capacities of the team of Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

However, Azerbaijan refused to implement the reached agreements and found itself in an isolation by opposing to the international community.

The highest leadership of Azerbaijan openly lies when it claims that the Co-Chair countries allegedly recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. It pretends as if it does not understand what the Co-Chair countries are referring to when they say that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh should implement its right to self-determination through the legally-binding free expression of will. Armenia shares the same approach: indeed, the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be determined by the people of Artsakh. That forgery of Baku exposes the failure of the policy of Azerbaijan. After failing in the negotiation process Baku resorted to the military solution but failed again.

The April war once again vividly proved that Artsakh can never be part of Azerbaijan under any status, and that the implementation of the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination is irreversible.

In response to Azerbaijan’s continuous threats to use force, the international community clearly warns that it will not be tolerated.

As a guarantor of Artsakh’s security, Armenia will ensure the safety of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Together with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries we will continue the efforts aimed at exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the ministry said in the statement.