Friday, February 26 2021 14:35

ArmInfo. On February 25,  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh sent a  Memorandum to international organizations on the occasion of the  visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to the occupied  territories of the Republic of Artsakh.

As the press service of the NKR Foreign Ministry informs, the  document, in particular, notes that after the end of the 44-day war  imposed on Artsakh by Azerbaijan with the support of Turkey and  mercenaries from various terrorist groups, the Azerbaijani  authorities have set a course to impose a fait accompli created  through the use of military force in blatant violation of norms of  international law. According to the document, among the instruments  for implementing this policy are the visits of the President of  Azerbaijan to the seized territories, the most striking of which is  Aliyev's visit to the city of Shushi, where he made a number of  statements replete with outrageous threats and militant rhetoric  containing outright hatred towards the Armenian people.  The  Memorandum also states that the provocative and inflammatory nature  of the visits and the accompanying statements evidence Azerbaijan's  intent to disrupt the resumption of the negotiation process on a  comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict and to  keep the conflict unsettled. Such destructive and defiant behavior of  Azerbaijan should be strictly condemned by the international  community, the Memorandum reads. 

The document underlines that the people of Artsakh exercised their  right to self-determination and established statehood in those  territories. As noted in the document, the failure to respect this  fundamental right is not only a violation of human rights, but is  also one of the core sources of serious threats to security in the  region.  The Memorandum notes that any legislative and administrative  actions of Azerbaijan to change the status of the territories of the  Republic of Artsakh, including the expropriation of land and  properties, the transfer of populations to the occupied territories  and the incorporation of the occupied territories, are invalid under  international law and cannot change their status. No territorial  gains resulting from the threat or use of force should be recognized  as legal.  The document notes that the current military occupation by  Azerbaijan of the territories of the Republic of Artsakh, including  the city of Shushi, also cannot change their status. The city of  Shushi is an integral part of the Artsakh Republic in a number of  aspects, including territorially, culturally, economically and  historically. Any attempt to seize it is a gross violation of the  territorial integrity of Artsakh.

The Memorandum underlines that only a just settlement of the  Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict-one that will eliminate its root cause  associated with Azerbaijan's unwillingness to recognize the rights of  the people of Artsakh-will reverse the consequences of the illegal  use of military force by Azerbaijan and re-institute the primacy of  the principle of peaceful resolution of disputes.