Baku: Armenia's annexation policy on Azerbaijan's occupied territories doomed

By Azernews

By Akbar Mammadov

Armenia’s policy aimed at annexation of Azerbaijan’s occupied territories is doomed to fail, the Foreign Ministry’s press service said on June 11.

Making a statement on the construction of the third road connecting Armenia with Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Foreign Ministry noted:

“The construction of the next, third road connecting Armenia with the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan through the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is part of the illegal activities carried out by the occupying Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan. This step of Armenia is aimed at strengthening the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan by the aggressor country, and can also serve to purposefully change the demographic situation in these areas, continuing illegal settlement, looting, exploitation and transportation of natural resources.

The ministry pointed out that the report "Illegal economic and other activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan" prepared by Azerbaijan’s MFA in 2016, as well as the reports, reflecting the satellite images of illegal activities in the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia, prepared by the MFA and “Azercosmos” in 2019, provide ample evidence of illegal activities by the occupying country.

“This evidence reveals the illegal transportation of natural resources along the occupied part of the international border between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the role of Armenia as a transit point for the transportation of illegally produced products, as well as natural resources from those territories to international markets”, the statement noted.

The MFA emphasized that the main reason for Armenia to build a third highway through the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is the intention to annex the territories of Azerbaijan and to consolidate the occupation by continuing its illegal activities.

“Armenia's illegal actions are contrary to its international obligations, as well as a gross violation of the norms and principles of international law, as well as the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. It is known that the international community has demonstrated its unequivocal position on Armenia's aggressive policy in numerous resolutions and documents adopted so far, including the relevant UN Security Council resolutions”, the statement reads.

Furthermore, the ministry also reminded that at the same time, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement had adopted resolutions and statements condemning Armenia's illegal activities in the occupied territories, as well as calling on it to refrain from providing any assistance, including economic activities, to maintain the situation.

“The adoption of a joint statement by the members of the European Parliament on the illegal activities of Armenia must be considered as a concrete challenge addressed to the occupying country”, the ministry added.

“Armenia's policy of trying to annex the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is doomed to fail. The only way to achieve a lasting solution to the conflict is to ensure the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as required by relevant UN Security Council resolutions”.

The foreign ministry stressed that Armenia bears full responsibility for the policy of aggression against Azerbaijan, the military occupation of Azerbaijani territories and the violation of the fundamental rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis subjected to ethnic cleansing in these territories, as well as all illegal activities carried out in these lands.

“The occupying country will sooner or later be held accountable for these actions”.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.