Azerbaijani community of occupied Nagorno-Karabakh appeals to OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs

By Trend

Azerbaijani Community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan sent a letter to the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in protest against the visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia to the occupied Azerbaijani lands and the provocative statement made there, Trend reports.

"The Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan on August 5, 2019 and attended the opening of the "Pan-Armenian Games”. At the opening ceremony, Pashinyan made a provocative statement and declared Nagorno-Karabakh “an integral part of Armenia”. Thus he confirmed that he pursues a policy of annexation in relation to the lands of Azerbaijan," the letter reads.

"Along with the fact that Pashinyan’s delusional statement contradicts the spirit of negotiations on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it provoked about the anger of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who were expelled from their ancestral lands," as stated in the letter.

It was also noted that changing internationally recognized borders of countries by force is unacceptable in the 21st century.

"Pashinyan’s words about the peaceful settlement of the conflict are just empty words. They are an excuse invented in order to conceal the military occupation by Armenia. The main goal of Armenia is to deceive the international community and the OSCE Minsk Group," said the statement.

"By stating that "Karabakh is an integral part of Armenia”, Pashinyan jeopardizes the negotiations conducted through the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group and causes irreparable damage to these negotiations," the letter reads.

In their letter, the members of the Azerbaijani Community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan urged the OSCE Minsk Group to condemn this annexation policy pursued by the Armenian prime minister.

In addition to the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the letter was also sent to the member countries of the Minsk Group and its Parliamentary Assembly, the UN Secretary General, the Council of Europe, the relevant structures of the EU, and other international organizations.

The letter was signed by the head of the Azerbaijani Community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan Tural Ganjaliyev, as well as by the board members of the community, including Flora Gasimova, Asif Jahangirov, Durdana Aghayeva, Khatira Valiyeva, Samira Huseynova, Nigar Movsumlu and others.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.