Azerbaijan has urged the Netherlands "not to create tension" in bilateral relations

Official Baku condemned two resolutions passed on October 10 by the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of the Netherlands regarding Azerbaijan, as well as the statement made by the Dutch Foreign Minister during the discussion of these documents. "It is unacceptable that the Dutch Foreign Minister, Kasper Velkamp, expressed support for these biased resolutions during his speech and called for the release of representatives of the former separatist regime and terrorists arrested by Azerbaijan, portraying them as 'prisoners of war,'" stated Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizade.

He expressed regret that the mentioned documents and statements "completely ignore the facts of the military occupation of Azerbaijani territories, ethnic cleansing of the Azerbaijani population, and the ongoing territorial claims of the Armenian side against Azerbaijan."

The military aggression was accompanied by the destruction of Azerbaijan's cultural and religious heritage and the illegal export of cultural values, which contradicts the 1954 Hague Convention. "The Netherlands, which has ignored these war crimes, now has no moral right to claim that Azerbaijan is allegedly targeting Armenian monuments, referring to false Armenian propaganda," Hajizade noted. He also pointed out the distortion by the Dutch Foreign Minister of the goals and objectives of the anti-terrorist measures carried out by Azerbaijan in September of last year.

"We would like to remind once again that these measures were aimed at eliminating ongoing military threats against Azerbaijan and ending the existence of illegal military formations. The individuals referred to as 'prisoners of war' in the statements by the Dutch side are accused of separatism, deliberate murder, torture, terrorism, and other crimes against humanity on Azerbaijani territory," continued the Azerbaijani diplomat.

Azerbaijan has both the right and international obligation to hold these individuals accountable in accordance with international law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, and local legislation.

"We urge the Dutch side to abandon its one-sided position, which contradicts peace in the region and creates tension in Azerbaijani-Dutch relations," emphasized A.Hajizade. It should be noted that the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's commentary did not mention the titles of the resolutions adopted by the Dutch parliament, and there are no reports on this issue on the website of the legislative body of that country.