24 April 2023
Mr. President,
The fundamentally flawed and false allegations made by Armenia earlier today at this meeting reveal the extent to which hatred, intolerance and falsehood dominate in its discourse and the serious threat that it poses to regional peace, security and stability.
Armenia’s objective is clear – to conceal own responsibility for aggression against Azerbaijan, the thirty-year occupation of the sovereign territories of my country, mass atrocities, hate crimes and undisguised racist policy.
Armenia’s recurring claims about the large-scale military hostilities allegedly unleashed by Azerbaijan in 2020 is a sheer fantasy. Azerbaijan used a counter-force to restore its territorial integrity and protect its people, acting exclusively on its sovereign soil, in full conformity with the UN Charter, international law and Security Council resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993).
As to the clashes in September 2022, they occurred along the non-delimited AzerbaijanArmenia border, not in Armenia, and were provoked by the armed forces of Armenia, as was properly documented and reported to the United Nations.
Armenia’s allegations about the Lachin-Khankandi road are equally false. Since the signing of the Trilateral Statement on 10 November 2020, the regime for the movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the road has remained unchanged, with Azerbaijan guaranteeing the security, in accordance with the Statement. Residents, ambulances, humanitarian convoys and the International Committee of the Red Cross have used the road without restrictions.
At the same time, it is Armenia itself that has abused the Lachin road for illegal military purposes, including for the rotation of armed forces personnel, the transfer of weapons to and planting of landmines in the area, as well as for illicit trafficking in minerals and other resources and the movement of third country nationals.
The establishment by Azerbaijan of a border checkpoint at the entrance of the Lachin road on its sovereign territory is grounded in the foundational principles of the territorial sovereignty and integrity of States and their undeniable right, prerogative and exclusive competence and the duty to ensure the security and protection of their borders and the rule of law.
Instead of wasting time on distorting the facts, misinterpreting international documents, misleading the international community and inciting enmity and hatred, Armenia must:
– abide by its international obligations,
– completely withdraw its armed forces and illegal armed formations from the territory of Azerbaijan,
– return the still occupied eight border villages of Azerbaijan,
– cease and desist from territorial claims, illegal activities and disinformation,
– put an end to mine terrorism,
– shed light on the fate of several thousand Azerbaijanis who went missing during the conflict,
– redress the harm caused to Azerbaijan and
– engage faithfully in negotiations on a peace treaty and the delimitation of the border between the two States.
Whatever the amount of falsehood, insinuations and disinformation disseminated by Armenia, Azerbaijan is firm in its determination to rehabilitate, reconstruct and reintegrate its conflictaffected territories, ensure a safe and dignified return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes, advance the normalization agenda and prevent and eliminate by all legitimate means any threats to the safety and well-being of its people and the State’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Thank you.