Friday, December 4 2020 14:09

ArmInfo. Head of the  Armenian Foreign Ministry Ara Aivazian met with the heads of foreign  diplomatic missions accredited in Armenia and representatives of  international bodies in order to present to them the position and  approaches of Yerevan on the current regional situation and on the  steps taken to eliminate the consequences of the Turkish-Azerbaijani  aggression.

As reported by the press service of the RA MFA, the Ombudsman of  Armenia Arman Tatoyan also participated in the meeting. " The same  measures have been taken to change the balance of power in the South  Caucasus as in the past and now in the Middle East, namely:  Organizing an army of terrorists, bringing them into the conflict  zone, smuggling weapons, giving value content to wars. Based on the  foregoing, it becomes obvious that this war, unfortunately, was  inevitable, since it was largely provoked and organized by  extra-regional forces, in particular, Turkey. And at this stage, we  can state that Turkey has managed to destabilize 

Touching upon the role of the OSCE Minsk Group co-operation in  establishing a truce and the reaction of the international community,  the Armenian Foreign Minister recalled that the co-chairing and  mediating countries were endowed not only with the mandate to resolve  the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but also reduce threats to regional  security. In this vein, he pointed to the exceptional role of Russia  in achieving an armistice and the transfer of a peacekeeping  contingent to the conflict region. The minister also expressed  gratitude to France and the United States for their efforts to  achieve a truce and fair assessments of the situation.

"The people of Artsakh ar experiencing a difficult test. Its physical  existence, economic life, cultural and religious monuments that are  part of his identity, and fundamental human rights are threatened.  The people of Armenia also did not stand aside from these hardships  and continue to support the people of Artsakh, including tens of  thousands of internally displaced persons, "the RA Foreign Minister  stressed.

Among the issues requiring urgent solutions, Ayvazyan pointed to the  need for close cooperation with international partners, including  international bodies, to meet the needs of the Armenians of Artsakh  and support the work carried out in this direction. The minister also  drew the attention of foreign diplomats to the fact that as a result  of the Azerbaijani aggression, many significant monuments of the  Armenian religious and cultural heritage came under the control of  Azerbaijan. "The destruction by Azerbaijan of thousands of Armenian  monuments in Nakhijevan demonstrates what the fate of Artsakh's  monuments can be. From this point of view, international control is  necessary," said the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, while  pointing out the need to protect the rights of the Karabakh people,  including the right to self-determination.

He recalled that the use of force by Azerbaijan against the right of  the people of Artsakh to self- determination is at the root of the  Karabakh conflict, another proof of which is the war that began on 27  September. In this regard, the minister stated that the use of force  not only cannot deprive the people of Artsakh of self-determination,  but also emphasizes the need to exercise this right.  . 

The Armenian Foreign Minister stressed the relevance of the  implementation of the humanitarian provisions contained in the  trilateral statement, primarily regarding the exchange of prisoners  of war and hostages, the evacuation of bodies, the return of  internally displaced persons to Artsakh, pointing out the  unacceptability of Azerbaijan's steps to create artificial obstacles  in this matter.

In his speech, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan  briefly presented his previous closed reports, in particular, he  pointed to the numerous well-founded facts of inhuman, degrading  treatment of prisoners of war, as well as violations of international  humanitarian law.

Tatoyan pointed out the importance of ensuring the return not only of  our compatriots captured during this war, but also before and after  the war. At the same time, he stressed that the Azerbaijani  authorities are clearly artificially delaying the return of prisoners  of war, which is unacceptable. The human rights defender stressed  that videos and photos published on the social network with the  permission of the Azerbaijani authorities are accepted by the  Azerbaijani society with great enthusiasm, which is a vivid evidence  of the Armenophobia that has been imposed by the authorities of this  country for decades.