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Western Azerbaijan Community: Pashinyan’s position shows an immeasurable level of hypocrisy in this country’s policies

03 September 2023 09:51 (UTC +04:00)

“We, the Western Azerbaijan Community, vehemently condemn the fact that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, on September 2, 2023, expressed a territorial claim against the Republic of Azerbaijan by issuing a congratulatory message on the anniversary of the “Declaration of Independence of Nagorno-Karabakh”. In addition to a demonstration of utter disregard for the norms and principles of international law, this position of the Armenian prime minister shows an immeasurable level of hypocrisy in the policies of this country,” the Community said in a statement.

The statement says further: “It is disgusting that Armenia, which has itself expelled all Azerbaijanis from its territory and from the Azerbaijani lands it held under occupation in pursuit of its notorious mono-ethnic policy, is now accusing Azerbaijan of intending to conduct a policy of ethnic cleansing. Armenia has no moral right to talk about humanitarian issues and human rights.

We recall that Armenia did not allow Azerbaijani IDPs to return to their homes for 30 years until the occupying Armenian army was defeated and removed from the territory of Azerbaijan in 2020. In addition, Armenia is still refusing to enable the return of the Azerbaijanis it expelled from its territory. Similarly, Azerbaijani IDPs who were evicted from such Azerbaijani settlements as Khankendi, Khojaly, Karkijahan, Meshali, Garadaghli of the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan are still unable to return to their homes.

Azerbaijan, in its turn, made it possible for the Armenians to safely return to the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan immediately after the 2020 war and is currently working on re-integrate them. In addition, the Armenians continue to live in Azerbaijani territories outside the Karabakh region as fully-fledged citizens of Azerbaijan.

It is worth emphasizing that it is Armenia’s obligation under international law and the Trilateral Statement to provide conditions for the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia.

Azerbaijan’s full restoration of control over its borders on April 23, 2023 has exposed Armenia’s true colors. Prime Minister Pashinyan's recent statement openly supporting separatism shows that his earlier statements on recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity were only aimed at gaining time to complete the large-scale armament program currently being carried out by Armenia and strengthen the military presence in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region to the maximum possible extent.

Excited by the “humanitarian aid” show orchestrated by a number of French cities, the so-called reports and opinions of people like Luis Ocampo, who approach the issue from the perspective of religious fanaticism, the Armenian prime minister heightened the tensions in the region even more by this statement and actually destroyed the process of peace negotiations. In this sense, N. Pashinyan's latest statement is reminiscent of the statement he made about four years ago that “Karabakh is Armenia, full stop”.

We demand that the Armenian government stop its illegal, destructive and dangerous actions against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. The international community should condemn the latest statement of the Armenian prime minister.

The Armenian government can rest assured that the Western Azerbaijan Community will use all political and legal means available to ensure the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to their homes within the framework of international mechanisms and under appropriate guarantees, and after their return, ensure protection of their individual and collective rights.”