Commentary by Aykhan Hajizada, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the views expressed by the Prime Minister of Armenia against Azerbaijan during his speech at the forum called “Yerevan Dialogue” on 10 September
The allegations made by the Prime Minister of Armenia during his speech at the forum called “Yerevan Dialogue” on 10 September, regarding both the draft “peace agreement,” and the trilateral statement of 10 November in general, are pure distortion of reality.
The call of the Armenian officials to sign the draft “peace agreement” with the removal of non-agreed provisions, and attempts to postpone the solution of existing problems in bilateral relations to the next stage, are unacceptable.
We once again remind that no matter in what form the Armenian side intends to sign the “peace agreement,” the main condition for signing the real and sustainable peace agreement is ending the continuing territorial claim of Armenia against Azerbaijan that is enshrined within its multiple legal and political documents, first and foremost in the Constitution of Armenia that openly refers to the Declaration of Independence of Armenia calling for “reunion of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.”
When it comes to claims that there are territorial claims against Armenia in the Constitutional Act of Azerbaijan, we reemphasize that an attempt to draw parallels and balance the Constitution of Azerbaijan and the Constitution of Armenia will not yield any results. Unlike the Constitution of Armenia, the Constitutional Act on State Independence of 1991 and the Declaration of Independence of 1918 referred to in the Constitution of Azerbaijan do not contain any territorial claims against Armenia.
The reference by the Armenian side to the provision in the draft peace agreement that “neither party may invoke its domestic legislation for not implementing its obligations under the peace agreement” to support the statement that the territorial claim in its Constitution is harmless is null and void. We reiterate the well-known fact that no international agreement can have a superiority over the Constitution.
As for the Prime Minister’s statement that Azerbaijan and Armenia recognize each other’s territorial integrity within the framework of the Almaty declaration, we would like to remind the fact that the country represented by the Prime Minister grossly violated this obligation and occupied the territories of Azerbaijan.
In the issue of opening up communications, the Prime Minister of Armenia once again misinterpreted the obligations they had undertaken. Paragraph 9 of the trilateral statement clearly states the obligations of Armenia, and how to organize control over transport links.
In general, as a country that following the signing of the trilateral statement contrary to her obligations continued its military activities in the territories of Azerbaijan and did not withdraw the Armenian armed forces from the territories of Azerbaijan until September 2023, Armenia’s claim about alleged obstruction of the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, ethnic cleansing against local Armenians, and non-return of prisoners of war is a distortion of a reality. At the same time, the presentation of migration of Armenian origin population to Armenia and other countries after the 2023 anti-terror measures is another slander campaign.
Regarding the return of prisoners of war, Azerbaijan does not have any obligation to release war criminals and representatives of the separatist junta regime. Adhering to the principle of humanism, Azerbaijan handed over each of the prisoners of war to Armenia. However, the mass arrests and persecution of prisoners of war by the Armenian state after they were returned by Azerbaijan caused special astonishment in the context of this state’s “care” for its citizens.
We call on the Armenian side, which continues aggressive slanderous rhetoric against our country using various platforms, to stop delivering statements that harm the prospects of peace.
