Your trusted source

Violations of agreements reached in trilateral and other formats by Azerbaijan have become chronic, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told a cabinet meeting on Thursday, responding to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s latest statements.

“In December 2020, Azerbaijan occupied the settlements of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas, contrary to the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, according to which a complete ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone comes into effect, all military operations are stopped and the parties remain in their positions,” he said.

The premier recalled that Azerbaijan carried out a similar occupation in March 2022, invading the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and violating the line of contact defined by the November 9 statement.

“Now the President of Azerbaijan proudly calls it "Operation Parukh". Azerbaijan violates the ceasefire regime almost on a daily basis, including on the line of contact established by the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, simultaneously declaring that Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist,” Pashinyan underscored.

“This claim itself is a gross violation of the November 9 trilateral statement. In addition, in that well-known document signed by Azerbaijan, the name "Nagorno-Karabakh" is mentioned 4 times.”

In Pashinyan’s words, Azerbaijan has not taken steps so far to start a dialogue visible for the international community with the representatives of Artsakh Armenians, failing to live up to its commitments.

At the same time, Azerbaijan is trying to show itself as constructive and declares that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are "their citizens and their rights and security are guaranteed", he noted.

“To what extent this claim is true can be practically proven by checking what conditions Azerbaijan has created and what steps it has taken for the safe return of thousands of residents of Hadrut and other Armenian-populated areas of Nagorno-Karabakh, who were displaced as a result of the 44-day war in 2020. Azerbaijan has not taken any steps in this direction, which is a gross violation of point 7 of the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020. In violation of this same point, Azerbaijan is preventing the entry of representatives of the United Nations, particularly the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, into Nagorno-Karabakh,” Pashinyan said.

“These and a number of similar actions and statements make it obvious that Aliyev not only threatens, but is already preparing the genocide of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. This intention is also expressed in the comments of the Azerbaijani leader about the terms of deployment of the Russian peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh, which in turn grossly violate at least three of the statements made in the trilateral format,” he stated.