Armenia not interested in peace and stability - Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry

Baku/17.03.23/Turan: The interpretation of the demand for safe and dignified return of members of the Western Azerbaijani community to the places of their historical residence in present-day Armenia as "territorial claims" and "preparation for aggression" against this country is completely unfounded and unacceptable.   This is said in the comment of the official representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizade in connection with the March 16 statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry on the speech of President Ilham Aliyev at the summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Ankara.

It is hypocritical to present as "violation of international law" the use of the expression "community of Western Azerbaijan" by the Azerbaijani leadership, taking into account that during the Soviet period and in the 1990s thousands of Azerbaijani toponyms were purposefully changed in Armenia, historical monuments were destroyed and all Azerbaijani heritage was destroyed, the comment says.

Armenia has no moral right to speak about internal settlers: after nearly 30 years of occupation of Azerbaijani territories it destroyed 9 cities and hundreds of villages, expelling about 1 million Azerbaijanis from their homes in Azerbaijan.

When it comes to the issue of Armenian residents of Azerbaijan, Baku is taking steps to reintegrate them.  Azerbaijan is already engaged in a dialogue with Armenian residents and as a step of goodwill has offered to hold the next meeting in Baku.

However, the Armenian side has completely rejected the proposal of the West Azerbaijani community for a dialogue. This is a sign that Armenia is not interested in peace and stability in the region and is pursuing a hypocritical policy, says the comment of the official representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. -16В-