Mnatsakanyan's statement can cause escalation of conflict - Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry

Baku/27.08.19 / Turan: Azerbaijan will never reconcile with the existing status quo based on occupation. Nagorno-Karabakh was, is and will be an integral part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a statement by the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan in response to today's statement by the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry that in order to resolve the conflict, Baku must negotiate with the illegal regime in Karabakh. "In this connection, I would like to emphasize again that Nagorno-Karabakh was, is and will be an integral part of Azerbaijan. The entire world community recognizes this fact and unequivocally condemns the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia.

There is no concept of "the people of Nagorno-Karabakh", there are Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in this region of Azerbaijan. The internationally accepted model for the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is based on the norms and principles of international law, relevant decisions of the UN, OSCE and other international organizations, and above all four resolutions of the UN Security Council. Concrete steps within the framework of a peaceful settlement were proposed by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and were repeatedly voiced by them, including in their latest statement of March 9 this year," the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

Azerbaijan, as a multi-ethnic state with an internationally recognized multicultural society, cannot be compared with mono-ethnic Armenia, which expelled the entire Azerbaijani population from its ancestral lands and committed monstrous ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which culminated in the Khojaly tragedy, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The attempts of the Armenian Foreign Minister to somehow justify the aggressive intentions of his country, referring to the people's right to self-determination, are in no way consistent with international law or with common sense. It is impossible to advocate for the realization of the rights of part of the population of any territory, completely violating the rights of another part.

The rights of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, occupied by the Armenian Armed Forces, were massively violated. Only after the restoration of the fundamental rights of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and safe return to their places of origin, it will be possible to discuss the forms of exercising the rights of the residents of the region to self-government," the statement emphasizes.

The latest statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, aimed at domestic consumption, is fraught with a very dangerous tendency to escalate the conflict, rather than resolving it peacefully, as Mnatsakanyan so eagerly asks, the Foreign Ministry said.

"Armenia should decide: do they want peace, or escalation?! It seems that the current Armenian leadership is consciously inclined toward escalation, not settlement. Unfortunately, we have to admit that official Yerevan proceeds from annexationist, and not from realistically tied positions. In any situation, Azerbaijan will never accept the existing status quo based on occupation. Our patience is not unlimited," the statement of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reads. -06D--