Foreign Ministry: Azerbaijan’s False Territorial-Historical Claims Against Armenia Indicate Its Aggressive Intentions

YEREVAN — On July 20, Armenia’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Armen Grigoryan received the heads of the diplomatic missions accredited in Armenia, the Foreign Ministry said.

It said the main theme of the meeting was the situation resulting from the encroachment of Azerbaijan into the sovereign territory of Armenia, particularly the infiltration of the Azerbaijani armed forces into the Syunik and Gegharkunik regions, as well as creating a new area of tension in the vicinity of Yeraskh settlement of Ararat region of Armenia.

During the meeting, Armen Grigoryan mentioned that alongside with these actions, official Baku is making false territorial-historical claims against Armenia, which clearly indicate Azerbaijan’s aggressive intentions towards the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

It was stressed that the inadequate response of the international community to the use of force and mass atrocities against the people of Artsakh, including ethnic cleansing, encouraged Azerbaijan to make the use of force as a permanent tool of policy, threatening regional security and peace. In this context, Armen Grigoryan especially emphasized.

“The Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people will not tolerate such violations of their rights. Today, the Armed Forces of Armenia are entirely fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure the territorial integrity of Armenia. Armenia will use its entire military-political toolkit, cooperating with relevant bilateral and multilateral measures.”

Armen Grigoryan stressed that Armenia expects a clear reaction from international partners to such violations of international law by Azerbaijan.

He specifically emphasized that without the resumption of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, and, finally, the settlement of the conflict, the region will constantly encounter new attempts of undermining the security.

“Armenia is willing to be involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process based on the approaches proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, which reiterate the principles formed by the Co-Chairs, including the right to self-determination,” said Armen Grigoryan.