Azerbaijan Officially and Openly Assumes Responsibility for Latest Aggression Against Nagorno-Karabakh, FM Mirzoyan

YEREVAN — On August 4, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan received the heads of accredited diplomatic missions in Armenia.

Minister Mirzoyan drew the ambassadors’ attention to the situation resulting from the provocative and aggressive actions by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh in recent days.

He noted that the Azerbaijani armed forces, once again violating the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, signed by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on the secession of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, carried out aggression in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces, as a result of which nineteen servicemen of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army were injured and two were killed.

Mirzoyan emphasized that the Azerbaijani side has officially and openly assumed responsibility for the aggression, which is clearly evidenced by the statements of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, as well as the violations recorded by the Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Minister Mirzoyan noted that the aggression carried out by Azerbaijan was preceded by the letter submitted to the Russian peacekeeping contingent on the transfer of control over the Lachin Corridor, according to which the Azerbaijani side plans to change the currently operating route through the Lachin Corridor, which is a gross violation of the Trilateral Statement of November 9 as the 6th provision of the Statement clearly reads that the plan for the construction of a new traffic route through the Lachin Corridor connecting Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh should be decided by the agreement of the parties (i.e. Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) within the next three years, while there is no such plan approved in a trilateral format yet.

Ararat Mirzoyan also stressed that the Azerbaijani authorities respond to the Armenian efforts to achieve stability and peace in the region with Armenophobic rhetoric, aggressive statements, and open threats to use force. He considered unacceptable the continuous policy of the Azerbaijani side to subject the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia also touched upon the humanitarian issues resulting from the 44-day war, which are still not addressed, stressing that the Azerbaijani side continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilians in violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia reiterated the position of the Armenian side towards the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, which is the only international format mandated by the UN Security Council.

It was also emphasized that in order to support the agenda of the Armenian side to achieve peace in the South Caucasus, coordinated and unanimous assistance of the international community is necessary.