Azerbaijan urges implementation of UN resolutions on Karabakh conflict

By Azernews

By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijan expects the implementation of the resolutions adopted by international organizations with regard to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict rather than the mere condemnation of the so-called “elections” in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by Armenia, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in an interview with The London Post on April 18.

“Today deliberate actions are being carried out in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan with a view of changing their demographic, cultural and physical nature. Such actions, including the so-called “elections”, constitute a clear violation of norms of international law and relevant international conventions. It is clear that such policy and practices can in no way be reconciled with the objectives of achieving a peaceful resolution of the conflict, thus necessitating the urgent action by the wider international community for defending the values, norms and principles of the rules-based inter-State relations, as enshrined in the UN Charter,” Mammadyarov said.

“This is what Azerbaijan is striving for and this is what needed to provide lasting peace, security and stability in the region”, the minister said.

Commenting on the so-called “elections” in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh territories held in two rounds on March 31 and April 14, Mammadyarov emphasized that such elections will be possible only after the withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces, return of the expelled Azerbaijani population to their places of origin, and restoration of dialogue and cooperation between the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of the region.

“Obviously, against the background of continuing military occupation and ethnic cleansing of the territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia, the holding of “elections” in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan constitutes a clear violation of the country’s constitution, as well as the norms and principles of international law, including the UN Charter, CSCE Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and the related UN Security Council Resolutions and, therefore, shall have no legal effect whatsoever,” the minister added.

“The international community has consistently deplored in the strongest terms the use of military force against Azerbaijan and the resulting occupation of its territories. In 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted 4 resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884), condemning the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and reaffirming respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders”.

The minister also noted that in those resolutions, the Security Council also confirmed that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is an integral part of Azerbaijan, and demanded the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

As in previous cases, this time again the international community firmly rejected the so-called “elections” in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and declared them illegitimate, the minister said, adding that the Non-Aligned Movement, OIC, EU, NATO, Turkic Council, GUAM, TURKPA, and the others, also the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as the numerous states which came up with the separate statements.

Reiterating the resolutions adopted by the UNSC’s and the European Parliament and the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as other international organizations’ positions, the minister emphasized that the legal basis of the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is quite solid. The Azerbaijani foreign minister also noted that in case of the so-called “elections” in Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan the violations of the Constitution and laws of the country is so obvious that Constitutional Court did not even take it for consideration.

Speaking about the roles of OSCE Minsk Group co-chair states (Russia, USA and France) to mediate the peace negotiations, Mammadyarov said that the expectation of Azerbaijan from the key players and important actors of the international relations is of course about implementation of the UN Security Council demands.

"The UK Foreign Office has also formally rejected conducting the so-called elections in Nagorno-Karabakh and the UK Embassy in Baku publicly reacted”, the minister reminded.