News - Azerbaijan MFA demands answer from Armenia MoD, scolds PM Pashinyan

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan issued a statement in response to what Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at today's Cabinet session of the Armenian government. Pashinyan had assessed Azerbaijan's shooting at Armenian positions on Tuesday, and reminded that the territories of 31 Armenian villages are still occupied by Azerbaijan. In response, the MFA of Azerbaijan called the accusations of aggression "unfounded," and they are allegedly "intended to deliberately inflame tension in the region." And as "proof" that Armenia was the initiator of the escalation, the MFA of Azerbaijan uses the wording "well-known." "(…) it would be useful to clarify why the Ministry of Defense of Armenia didn’t fulfill their commitment regarding an investigation into the injury of an Azerbaijani soldier so far, as well as on what basis the mercenaries from different military groups at the border posts of Armenia were subordinated to the Armenian Ministry of Defense," the MFA of Azerbaijan continues brazenly. “Referring to the issue of enclave and exclave villages of Azerbaijan, another assertion of the Prime Minister of Armenia that Azerbaijan had occupied the territories of 31 villages is part of political manipulations. We would like to remind the Prime Minister, who stated in his previous statements that there are 32 such villages, that Armenia first and foremost has obligations to return 8 villages of Azerbaijan. “It would be appropriate to get an explanation why Armenia, which refers to the territorial integrity and conduct of delimitation on the basis of the borders of 1991 and the Alma-Ata Declaration, has not complied with these maps and agreements in the last 35 years, refused to accept the borders reflected in the Soviet maps, and occupied the territories of Azerbaijan. “We would like to remind the Prime Minister, who claims that Armenia supports the territorial integrity of all its neighbors, the ongoing claims against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in Armenia’s Constitution, legislative acts in force, official letters, statements, documents distributed in international organizations and courts. “If Armenia is genuinely interested in the peace process, this country should abandon its claims against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan," adds the statement by the MFA of Azerbaijan. Although the idea is presented quite chaotically, it is obvious that this is another demand by Azerbaijan for the changing of Armenia’s constitution and its refusal to return the Armenian territories.