FM: Armenia undermines Eastern Partnership principles

By Azernews

By Akbar Mammadov

Armenia is obstructing the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and undermines the fundamental principles of the Eastern Partnership, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at the online meeting of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) held on June 11.

During the video-teleconference meeting of the EaP Foreign Ministers, Mammadyarov noted:

“At a time when the whole world is mobilized to fight COVID, Armenia holds so-called "elections" and "inauguration" ceremonies in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. By refusing to negotiate and comply with the requirements of UN Security Council resolutions, Armenia is obstructing the process of resolving the conflict. Thus, Armenia undermines the fundamental principles of the Eastern Partnership, such as stability and prosperity”.

Mammadyarov also stressed that the presence of Armenian armed forces in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan remains the biggest threat to security in the region.

“Despite UN Secretary-General and EU High Representative Joseph Borel's call for a global ceasefire, the Armenian armed forces continue to violate the ceasefire and make every effort to increase tensions and impede a political solution to the conflict”, the foreign minister added.

The minister emphasized that Armenia presents itself as a "democracy", but still continues to violate the human rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis forcibly expelled from their native lands.

Furthermore, Mammadyarov highlighted the fact that as stated in the latest EU Council Conclusions Document, the fundamental foundations of the EaP are based on the countries’ shared obligations under international law, including the rule-based international order and the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of partner countries.

“We stand with the EU in promoting these principles in bilateral and multilateral cooperation”, he concluded.

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.