Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry urges third countries not to worry about events around the Garaghel Lake

Baku/16.05.21/Turan: Responding to international calls for withdrawal of Azerbaijani border troops from a part of the Lachin district around Lake Garaghel, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has published a lengthy explanation.

Leyla Abdullayeva, head of the Foreign Ministry's press service, advises concerned parties to recall the occupation of Azerbaijani land until November 2020 before ranting about 'sovereign Armenian territory'. At the core of the tension on the border is the illegal occupation of Azerbaijani land. Azerbaijan is only restoring its violated territorial integrity," Abdullayeva said.

She recalled the first statement by the Foreign Ministry on this matter, which stated that previously Azerbaijani border troops could not take over the territories around the lake because of the harsh seasonal climate conditions. Now Azerbaijan is strengthening security on the border, and this is being done on the basis of maps available to Baku and Yerevan. Azerbaijan respects the sovereignty of  borders, territorial integrity and inviolability," the Foreign Ministry clarifies.

The Ministry believes that the only right thing to do in this situation is to start the process of delimiting and defining the borders. This is the key to peace between the two states that have emerged from the war. Different positions can be negotiated," the Foreign Ministry said.

Commenting on provocative statements from third countries, the Foreign Ministry says that border demarcation and delimitation is a bilateral process decided by Azerbaijan and Armenia. It would be better for third countries to study the situation comprehensively before making statements," the Foreign Ministry says.

The ministry described Armenia's response as inadequate, serving as a political tool in the country's pre-electoral processes.

The Foreign Ministry calls on political and military circles in Armenia to acknowledge the reality of the border regime between the two countries, not to strain the situation and resolve issues in bilateral talks. -0--