Pashinyan Addressing La Francophonie Summit: Armenia Expects International Community to Demand Azeri Withdrawal From Occupied Territories

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addresses the summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie in Djerba, Tunisia, November 19, 2022.

The two-day summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie that began in Djerba, a Tunisian island off the Mediterranean coast, on November 19 has brought together leaders of dozens of countries.

Armenia, which became a full member of the organization in 2012, hosted its previous summit in 2018.

Pashinyan raised the issue of Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia in his speech at the summit.

“We have to record that the fundamental principles of the UN Charter have been violated, in particular, the principle of not using force against the territorial integrity of any country, on which the collective security of all of us is based, thus gradually imposing the Law of the Strongest.

“The aggression carried out by Azerbaijan, to which the Republic of Armenia fell victim on September 13-14, is a vivid manifestation of this reality,” the Armenian leader said.

Pashinyan stressed that “Azerbaijan’s totally unjustified and unprovoked aggression led to the occupation of a part of Armenia’s territories, causing death and suffering to the civilian population and causing considerable destruction.”

“The established ceasefire, however, has not yet put an end to this country’s ambitions for other territories of Armenia.

“Faced with new threats, we expect the international community to make a fair assessment of the situation our country has appeared in today, condemning the occupation of some parts of the Armenian territory and demanding the return of Azerbaijani forces to their initial positions.

“Armenia, for its part, is firmly committed to contributing to the process of achieving a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, as well as ensuring the rights and security of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Armenian premier underscored.