Deputy PM: Armenia still loses by keeping Azerbaijani territories under occupation

By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

Some international organizations are trying to freeze the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but the Azerbaijani state will never allow it.

Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, Ali Hasanov made the remark during the “Multiculturalism and human rights: equality, cooperation and development” conference in Baku on December 28.

The head of the committee noted that Azerbaijan will constantly keep the Nagorno-Karabakh issue under control until it is resolved, until the Armenian army leaves Azerbaijan's occupied territory, and the expelled people return to their native lands.

Hasanov reminded that the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan since 1988 resulted in violent displacement of more than one million Azerbaijanis, who turned into refugees and IDPs.

“Today their number exceeds 1.2 million people. The rights of our compatriots were violated, and these rights have not been restored for more than 25 years,” said Hasanov.

The official further mentioned that as a result of aggression of Armenia, the damage inflicted on the Azerbaijani economy exceeds $600 billion.

Noting that the UN and other international organizations adopted decisions and resolutions on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Hasanov voiced regret that the conflict remains unresolved so far.

 “Azerbaijan has always respected the decisions of international organizations, but our country is treated in a completely different attitude. Such injustice is not acceptable. The end will come, the world will not tolerate such injustice. What did Armenia achieve by occupying Azerbaijani lands?” asked Hasanov.

“Azerbaijan has become a leading state in the region. In contrast to Azerbaijan, no representatives of other nations live in Armenia today. The country is isolated from all projects because of its aggressive policy. If there was not the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia would also economically develop. But Armenia, keeping Azerbaijani territories under occupation, still loses.”

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.