News - Goal of Azerbaijan aggression was to subject people of Karabakh to ethnic cleansing – Mirzoyan

The goal of Azerbaijan’s military aggression was to subject the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing. Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has said at a meeting with his Albanian counterpart Igli Hasani within the framework of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Referring to the large-scale aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, Minister Mirzoyan noted that it follows Azerbaijan's 9-month blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the purpose of which was to subject the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing. Minister Mirzoyan brought to the attention of his colleague the cases of targeting the civilian population and civil infrastructures, stressing that the use of force should be uniformly condemned everywhere. The two ministers spoke about the UN Security Council session scheduled for September 21 regarding the Azerbaijan aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh. The issues of political dialogue between Armenia and Albania and expansion of the agenda of bilateral relations were also discussed, both sides highlighted the mutual willingness to develop cooperation in a number of directions. Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack against Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19. Nagorno-Karabakh has confirmed that 200 people have died and more than 400 wounded, including civilians, because of Azerbaijan’s aggression. Azerbaijani opposition media that report that 80 Azerbaijani soldiers have died during the military aggression. On September 20, the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh accepted the proposal of the command of the Russian peacekeeping mission regarding the cessation of fire. The proposal by Azerbaijan envisages the withdrawal of the remaining units and servicemen of the RA Armed Forces from the deployment zone of the Russian peacekeeper and the dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh armed formations; the complete disarmament of the Defense Army, as well as the withdrawal of heavy equipment and weapons from the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in order to quickly eliminate them. The Azerbaijani forces resumed the fire on Stepanakert today while a delegation representing Nagorno-Karabakh was holding a meeting with Azerbaijani representatives in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh to discuss the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and further actions. Following the meeting, the delegation said that no final agreement was reached and that the details must be agreed upon.