Azerbaijani ambassador in UN: "OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have no right to be neutral"

The due announcement was made by Agshin Mekhtiyev, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan in UN at a plenary session of the UN General Assembly on Friday, according to Novosti-Azerbaijan.

"The co-chairs do not have any right to reject the principle of territorial integrity for the sake of their own frustrating neutrality. The said neutrality is rather the absence of any position. Neutrality is impossible in conditions of the violation of norms of international law. Neutrality in these conditions demonstrated complete neglect of norms of international law", the diplomat explained.

Mekhtiyev voiced Azerbaijan's concern over the clear proposals from the side of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen.

"By their words their supported the release of all the occupied lands and return of the Azerbaijani population to Nagorno Karabakh, but in fact they tried to belittle this common task", Mekhtiyev noted.

The Azerbaijani representative in the United Nations said presenting the draft resolution on the situation on the occupied lands of Azerbaijan that both low and mountain parts of Nagorno Karabakh had always been connected with Azerbaijani economically and politically and had been its integral part.

"In the process of a bloody in 1988-1994 Armenia under support of foreign troops and with direct participation of international mercenaries and terrorist groups occupied not only Nagorno Karabakh but also seven adjacent regions. The occupation process was accompanied by ethnic cleansing. Over 1,000,000 Azerbaijanis turned into refugees and internally displaced persons", he noted.

He stressed that Armenian leadership tried to make everything possible to substantiate the occupation fact.

"Thus, Armenians falsified the history and misappropriated cultural and architectural heritage of all the occupied lands. Furthermore, the Armenian leadership started the policy of mass settlement of Armenians in the occupied lands.

The UN mission, sent to the occupied lands in early 2005, confirmed facts of Armenian settlement there", the diplomat explained.

"But the most dangerous deterioration of the situation on the contact front line occurred on March 4 of 2008 when Armenian occupational forces violated the ceasefire regime, which led to five deaths from the Azerbaijani side and 27 from Armenia. This provocation arranged by Armenians was obviously intended for distraction of attention from the tense situation in Armenia. The use of violence has become a traditional method of external and internal policy of the said country", Mekhtiyev said.

The diplomat also noted in his report that Azerbaijan has always hold talks accurately, while Armenia used talks to hide its illegal actions.

"The talks based on the clear position of complete restoration of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. The final stage of the conflict settlement envisions tranformation of Nagorno Karabakh into a peaceful and developing region where Azerbaijani and Armenian citizens would coexist peaceful within the Azerbaijan Republic.

Conflict consequences should be removed for attaining this goal, which implies the withdrawal of occupational troops from all the occupied lands and return of internally displaced persons to their native lands, as well as restoration of communications", Mekhtiyev concluded.