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 Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian issued a statement at the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Alignment Movement in Sharm el-Sheikh, MFA press and information department said. The statement reads:

“I am pleased to return to Egypt, a country, where I have lived and worked for fourteen years. I have fond and warm memories of those years, the country and its people.

I am pleased to be here today to address the Ministerial Meeting of Non-Alignment Movement, a Family of Nations, which are associated by the shared values of Respect for fundamental human rights and for the goals and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Being an obsrever state of this Movement, Armenia fully shares its values.

All of you understand well, the propagandistic nature of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister’s statement of today, which does not require any further comments.

I am convinced that it is important to personally share with this distinguished audience the truth about the manipulation with the inclusion by Azerbaijan in the declaration of this meeting of the paragraph 382. Being a member of the Non-Aligned movement for only a year Azerbaijan is already abusing its membership, by misleading the member states and orienting them against the approaches of the international community. This paragraph presents the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in such a manner, that could hamper the mediation efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the only internationally mandated negotiating format and could undermine the ongoing peace process.

It is regretful, that this paragraph is in contradiction with the wording, logic and spirit of the ongoing peace process, based on the statements made by the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries – France, Russian Federation, and the United States in the framework of G8 summits in Deauville (2011), Muskoka (2010) and L’Aquila (2009) as well as the relevant statements made in the framework of the 56 member countries of the OSCE Astana Summit (2010) and Ministerial Councils in Vilnius (2011), Almaty (2010), Athens (2009) and Helsinki (2008).

These declarations highlight the importance of the three principles of international law – non-use of force or threat of force, equal rights and self-determination of peoples and the territorial integrity – which are considered the key elements for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Unfortunately, paragraph 382 selectively addresses the above-mentioned principles ignoring the principle of self-determination of peoples and does not use the internationally accepted term of the “Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”.
Such an approach is not only endangering the negotiating process, and the fragile peace on the ground, but is contrary to the founding principles of the Non-Alignment movement. The principle of self-determination was and is one of the basic pillars since the very first day of foundation of this movement, which was voiced in the majority of the Ministerial statements delivered yesterday and today.

Unfortunately it has become a routine for Azerbaijan to disregard internationally reached agreements and violate fundamental norms of international law, therefore it is not surprising that being a member of this organization, Azerbaijan is continuously violating almost all “Bandung principles” – propogading racism and ethnic hatred. How else one can assess the statement of Azerbaijani leadership that Azerbaijan’s “main enemies are Armenians all over the world”. The International organisations had appropriately reacted to numerous cases of xenophobia, intolerance and racism in Azerbaijan.

The continuous threats to regional peace and security, the war-mongering, bellicose and hatred-disseminating provocative statements of the leadership of Azerbaijan, which are in vivid contradiction with the Bandung Principles, are not befitting a NAM member state, moreover, they undermine the authority of this important organisation.

In conclusion, I would also like to thank the Egyptian authorities for hospitality and for the excellent organistaion of this meeting.”