Nikol Pashinyan again called on the international community to  recognize the independence of Karabakh

ArmInfo.Azerbaijan carried out an attack on Nagorno- Karabakh contrary to the principle, according to whom the use of force or the threat of force in the  context of the settlement of the Karabakh conflict is unacceptable,  which, in fact, is one of the internationally recognized principles  underlying the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan stated this yesterday at a meeting with the heads of  diplomatic departments and international organizations accredited in  Armenia.

According to him, quoted by the government's press service, it is  clear that this war would not have started if Turkey had not shown  its readiness to fully participate in it, and, as a result, Turkey  would not have been fully involved. "I want to draw the attention of  all of us to the fact that the hostilities began as a continuation of  the joint Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercises. Turkey's  participation and incitement to war, I think, is also public.  Moreover, this is proved not only by the justifications that we have  passed on to our partners, but also by the public statements  themselves. To this day, Turkey continues to participate in  hostilities, "the head of the Armenian government noted.

He stressed that Turkey recruited mercenaries and members of  terrorist groups in Syria and delivered them to the conflict zone  with its own air transport. "Why did Turkey come to the South  Caucasus 100 years later? According to our estimates, in order to  continue the policy of the genocide of the Armenian people.  But once  again I want to emphasize that the goal of this policy is not  emotional or not in the context of, so to speak, a historical  revenge, but very practical. For me, it is clear that this is part of  Turkey's expansionist policy, because the Armenians of the South  Caucasus are the last obstacle on Turkey's path to the east, north,  and southeast. And what is happening should be viewed in the context  of Turkey's policy in the Mediterranean, in Syria, in Iraq, in  relations with Greece, in relations with Cyprus. And this is clearly  a policy aimed at restoring the Turkish empire, "the Prime Minister  said.

Nikol Pashinyan stressed that the hostilities and their nature once  again showed that the Armenian people, Armenians, Armenians of  Nagorno-Karabakh are in existential danger. "And if we compare the  policy of bombing the settlements of Karabakh with the policy of  hatred that has been developing in Azerbaijan over the past 15 years,  it becomes obvious that the official political goal of Azerbaijan is  the extermination of Armenians, at least in Nagorno-Karabakh. And I  believe that the most important symbol of this is the Ramil Safarov  case, the details of which, I hope, you know. In fact, we are very  close to a humanitarian crisis in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict, if not to say that we have already faced a humanitarian  crisis. In our opinion, the only effective way to prevent this  humanitarian crisis can be: first, the official statement of the  above facts by the international community; and, finally, the  recognition of the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to  self-determination, up to the recognition of the independence of  Nagorno- Karabakh. I also want to touch upon the statements of the  Azerbaijani side that the Armenian side is striking the civilian  infrastructure of Azerbaijan and so on. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense  Army made decisions on actions in any direction only after it became  clear that it was impossible to stop the shelling of Stepanakert and  other settlements in another way. You all know that after the public  appeal of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, a  ceasefire statement was adopted by the Foreign Ministers of Armenia,  Azerbaijan and Russia, and Azerbaijan does not respect the ceasefire.  The ceasefire was to take effect on 10 October at 12:00. Before the  de jure ceasefire entered into force, Azerbaijan was engaged in  intensive hostilities, which de jure is not part of the logic of  violating this ceasefire statement. However, at 12:00, the ceasefire  was to come into force, at 12:05, Azerbaijan launched an attack on  the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, making an attempt to capture the  city of Hadrut. At the moment, hostilities are underway in the Hadrut  region, and the forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army are  trying to oust the sabotage groups that tried to capture Hadrut,  "Nikol Pashinyan noted.

According to him, at the moment the situation is tense, especially in  the southern part, and in fact there is no ceasefire. Armenia has  clearly stated its commitment to adhere to the ceasefire in  accordance with the statement, we intend to observe the ceasefire, we  are committed to these intentions. Those. ceasefire and humanitarian  actions, the beginning of the negotiation process in the unchanged  format of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. "

During the meeting, the heads of diplomatic missions of foreign  states and international organizations were presented with a video  about the military operations conducted by Azerbaijan against the  peaceful settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh and civilian infrastructure.  After the presentation of the video, the Prime Minister drew  attention to the fact that not only no military infrastructure, but  not a single military one can be seen in these footage, which proves  that these are deliberate attacks on peaceful settlements and  civilian infrastructure. "My assessment is unambiguous: in this war  the Armenian people are trying to resist the genocide unleashed  against them," Nikol Pashinyan noted.

The Prime Minister thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin and  French President Emmanuel Macron as leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group  co-chairing countries that are making sincere efforts to end the  violence, as well as the US administration and President Donald  Trump. "We expect that the co-chairing countries will continue their  efforts and we are ready to be constructive in this process. However,  we believe that the resumption of the negotiation process should  proceed in accordance with the logic laid down in the Moscow  statement," Nikol Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia also thanked the  Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel, the  President of the European Council Charles Michel, the Chancellor of  Austria, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with whom he  had telephone conversations and exchanged views on the situation.

The Prime Minister also highly appreciated the position of the Prime  Ministers of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus in the framework of the  meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council held in Yerevan on  October 9, which in this situation considered it important to come to  Yerevan and take part in the meeting.  Nikol Pashinyan thanked all  partners who have shown an active interest in establishing peace and  stability in the region.