News - Armenia representative: If there is uncertainty in International Court decision, Azerbaijan will take advantage of it

Armenia was warning for months that Azerbaijan was preparing for Armenian ethnic cleansing in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), and it is regrettable to report that this has become a reality. This was stated Thursday by Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Armenia's representative on international legal affairs, speaking at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) during the hearings of Armenia's case against Azerbaijan. Kirakosyan reminded that on September 19, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack against Artsakh, and then cynically reopened the Lachin corridor for the first time in the nine-month siege so that Artsakh Armenians would leave the region where they lived for many centuries. Now there are no Armenians there. And if this is not ethnic cleansing, then we don't know what ethnic cleansing is. The representative of Azerbaijan will say that he is ready for peace and so on. But he said the same thing nine months ago. Then Azerbaijan started a siege, launched a brutal attack, and expelled the Armenians from the land of their ancestors, Kirakosyan said. Azerbaijan will say that it is ready for the return of Armenians; but they said the same thing after the war, too. No Armenians were allowed to return to the occupied territories. Azerbaijan will pledge to respect the rights and security of the Armenian population; but Azerbaijan has made similar promises in the past as well, and this did not prevent it from violating international conventions, Kirakosyan noted. Since September 2020, Azerbaijan has taken steps toward the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh; and he did it in parallel with the discussion of the Armenian lawsuit in this court. The international community did not stop the process. Azerbaijan's accountability will be determined by the results of the discussion in this court. But now there is still time to prevent the irreversibility of the emigration of Armenians from Artsakh, Kirakosyan stated There are still Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and their rights must be protected. Many Armenians were abducted and illegally kept in the prisons of Azerbaijan. Baku's cynicism knows no bounds. Azerbaijan claims that Armenia's demands violate the laws, and it accuses Yerevan of allegedly being against the establishment of peace in the region and not being interested in the process of normalization of relations, Kirakosyan said. Azerbaijan's behavior contradicts international laws. It has repeatedly shown its willingness to mislead the international community. Only the interim measures of the ICJ can stop the Armenian ethnic cleansing and the attempts to erase the Armenian traces in the region, as happened in Nakhichevan, as well as protect the former leaders of Artsakh from the illegal actions of Baku, Kirakosyan noted. But if there is uncertainty in the ICJ's decision, Azerbaijan will inevitably take advantage of it. Armenia is appealing to the court for the third time already, Yeghishe Kirakosyan stated. Hearings of Armenia's case against Azerbaijan have started at the International Court of Justice. Armenia's position is presented by five representatives.