Pashinyan: Turkey directly threatens Armenia and puts on show  aggressive military posturing 

ArmInfo.. Despite the fact that humanity's efforts these days have been aimed at overcoming Covid-19, we have witnessed painful attempts to destabilize peace and  security in our region. This was stated by RA Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan in his speech at the general debate of the 75th session of  the General Assembly.

Pashinyan once again stressed Armenia's unequivocal support to the  Secretary-General's appeal for a global ceasefire and UN Security  Council Resolution 2532 on COVID-19, demanding general and immediate  cessation of hostilities in all situations. The PM recalled that this  July Azerbaijan ventured yet another act of aggression. The armed  forces of Azerbaijan initiated a military offensive in the borderline  Tavush region of Armenia.

''As Armenia had called for an immediate de-escalation and agreed to  end hostilities of hours after their outbreak, Azerbaijan continued  targeting civilian population and infrastructure, and attacking  Armenia's borderline areas by employing artillery, heavy weaponry,  UAV's, and large infantry units. Moreover, the Azerbaijani  authorities had also escalated their war threats, which crossed all  the imaginable boundaries of a civilized world. Azerbaijan's Ministry  of Defense even threatened to launch a missile strike at the Nuclear  Power Plant in Armenia, which is tantamount to a threat of "nuclear  terrorism."

The July battles shattered the myth of Azerbaijan's military  superiority and validated the obvious that there is no military  solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is long overdue for the  Azerbaijani leadership to acknowledge this fact and renounce the use  of force and threat of force in the context of the conflict  resolution'', he stated.

Armenia reaffirms its commitment to the exclusively peaceful  settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  The right of  self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh is a basis of  the peace process, which is recognized by the international community  and the international mediators, the OSCE Minsk Group Co- Chairs, in  particular. By virtue of this right, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh  should be able to determine their status without limitation. To this  end their elected authorities should be able to take part in the  negotiations. The aspirations and needs of people living in the  conflict zone should become the priority of the negotiation agenda.

Ensuring comprehensive security of the people of Artsakh who have  been exposed to existential physical security threats is another key  priority for Armenia.

Freedom, democracy and respect for basic human rights are integral  requisites of an environment conducive to achieving a lasting and  comprehensive settlement of the conflict. Only legitimately elected  governments can genuinely express the interests of their people and  move towards a compromise.

The authorities of Azerbaijan have been consistently using the  conflict for legitimizing their long grip on power. For decades,  Armenia and the Armenians have been useful enemies for the leadership  of Azerbaijan to justify low living standards, the absence of  democracy and systematic violations of human rights in their country.

The ceasefire must be strengthened by concrete actions on the ground.  Renouncing bellicose rhetoric and hate speech, expanding OSCE  monitors on the line of contact and the borders, establishing an  investigative mechanism into ceasefire violations and setting up  direct communication lines between commanders on the ground are  essential in this regard.

During the July escalation, calls from the international community  were mostly about the respect of the ceasefire, dialogue and  restraint. Turkey, however, much in line with its destabilizing  policies of power projection in its other neighboring regions,  including the East Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East,  spared no effort to fuel tensions in the South Caucasus, as well.   With its unilateral support to Azerbaijan and the expansion of  military presence there, Turkey undermines efforts to peace and  stability in the region, as well as the efforts of the OSCE Minsk  Group Co-Chairs to this end.

Turkey directly threatens Armenia and puts on show aggressive  military posturing by way of provocative joint military drills with  Azerbaijan in close vicinity of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey builds its policies in our region on traditions of kinship, on  exploiting conflicts, on the justification of the Armenian Genocide  and on the impunity for that crime. Turkey poses a security threat to  Armenia and the region. In this context, Armenia will continue to  actively engage in regional and international efforts to maintain  peace and security through dialogue and cooperation'', Pashinyan  stated.