Your trusted source

There are sufficient political, legal and historical grounds for the international recognition of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the country’s Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan told a conference on the 35th anniversary of the Karabakh movement in Yerevan on Friday.

"The Artsakh people exercised their right to self-determination on December 10, 1991. Later, Azerbaijan resorted to a military solution of the conflict three times in an attempt to suppress the Artsakh people's right to self-determination by force, thus violating the international law and the UN Charter," Ghazaryan said.

He underscored that even in times of relative peace Azerbaijan consistently pursued a policy of inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination against Armenians. At the same time, Baku sabotaged all attempts of international mediators, particularly the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, aimed at the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of international norms for over 30 years, the minister added.

Ghazaryan highlighted the months-long blockade of Artsakh as a part of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing policy. He said the recent World Court ruling ordering Azerbaijan to ensure unimpeded movement along the Lachin Corridor confirmed Azerbaijan’s discriminatory policy against Armenians.

“The recognition of Artsakh’s independence by the international community is a means to stop the massive and regular violations of the Artsakh people’s rights,” the foreign minister stated.