Azerbaijan urges all wishing regional peace to help fulfil Karabakh peace deal

By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva has said that any party wishing peace in the South Caucasus region should contribute to the fulfilment of the trilateral statements signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan in November 2020 and January 2021.

Abdullayeva made the remarks in a statement about documents adopted by some European parliaments. her remarks were posted on the Foreign Ministry website on March 3.

"It is very important to fulfil the trilateral statements that act as the main guarantor of lasting peace amid the new situation that has arisen in the region thanks to the agreement on the cessation of hostilities [in the Nagorno-Karabakh region]. Any party wishing peace in our region must contribute to the implementation of these agreements both through the statements and the activity,” the spokesperson said.

She added that "the parliamentarians in some countries put their preconceived interests above the interests of ensuring peace”.

“Not only the regional countries but also the entire international community focus on the new situation that arose in the region after the second Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh War and the implementation of the trilateral statement signed on November 10, 2020 [on ceasefire and cessation of all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region],” Abdullayeva said.

She stressed that Azerbaijani always emphasizes that the implementation of the signed trilateral statements is an important condition for ensuring lasting peace, security and development in the region.

“The legislative structures of some European countries have recently come up with documents on the situation in the region and the implementation of agreements. The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Italian Chamber of Deputies adopted a resolution on March 2, 2021 'On the status of implementation of the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan' inviting the parties to constructive activity,” Abdullayeva said.

The spokesperson underlined that while demonstrating a balanced policy, the Italian parliament instructed the government to work bilaterally with both countries to promote confidence-building measures to create conditions for future reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“I would like to emphasize that as the most important issue, the parliament pays attention to the demining process and providing maps of mined areas. In general, as you know, the Italian parliament has been paying attention to the implementation of the trilateral statement for the second time," she said.

Abdullayeva the resolution dated November 18, 2020, welcomed the signing of a joint statement and the parties were invited to fulfil their obligations upon this statement. She reminded that on February 25 this year, the Dutch Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution calling on the Dutch government to help "release prisoners of war arrested by Azerbaijan".

"Another unfounded and completely one-sided document of the Dutch parliament was accepted thanks to the efforts of the committee members, who have always been distinguished by their biased position,” the spokesperson said.

“I would like to note that while speaking at the meeting during the discussion of the resolution Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok spoke out against the resolution, saying that both Armenia and Azerbaijan have mutual claims on the issue of prisoners of war, and proposed to make an amendment to the resolution envisaging an appeal to both parties,” Abdullayeva said.

Stressing that the resolution was not amended, the spokesperson said that "this once again demonstrates that for parliamentarians in some countries, their biased stance is above everything, even above the efforts to ensure regional peace".

On November 10, Baku and Yerevan signed a Moscow-brokered deal that brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

On January 11, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement is set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.