Wednesday, May 12 2021 12:32

ArmInfo.Twenty-seven years ago, on May 12, 1992, a trilateral, termless  agreement on a complete ceasefire and cessation of hostilities signed between the Nagorno  Karabakh Republic (Republic of Artsakh), Azerbaijan and Armenia  entered into force. The signing of the document became possible due  to the mediation efforts of the Russian Federation. The press service  of Artsak MFA reports.

As the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic  of Artsakh reads:  <This agreement was preceded by a statement of the  Council of CIS Heads of State dated April 15, 1994, calling for an  immediate ceasefire, as well as the Bishkek Protocol of May 4-5,  1994, signed by the heads of the parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan,  Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), Kyrgyzstan, the Chairman of the  Federation Council of Russia, as well as the Plenipotentiary  Representative of the Russian President on Nagorno-Karabakh and the  head of Secretariat of the Council of CIS Interparliamentary  Assembly.  

Subsequently, the commitments to observe the ceasefire were  repeatedly reaffirmed by the parties, in particular on July 26-27,  August 29 and November 12, 1994, and were finally consolidated by the  agreement on strengthening the ceasefire regime reached under the  auspices of the OSCE on February 6, 1995. In April 2016, after a  sharp increase in escalation caused by another armed attack of  Azerbaijan on Artsakh, known as the Four-Day War, an agreement on  cessation of hostilities and strict adherence to the ceasefire was  again reached with the mediation of Russia.  

The indefinite agreement, which put an end to the first armed  aggression of Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh and its  people, was considered by the international community as a document  binding on the signatory parties, as well as an important instrument  to prevent the resumption of bloodshed in Nagorno Karabakh and create  conditions for a peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh  conflict. 

The UN Secretary General, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, the Council  of Europe Secretary General, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair  countries have repeatedly stated the need to strictly observe this  agreement, including through joint statements at the level of heads  of state.  On September 27, 2020, in flagrant violation of the  trilateral ceasefire agreement of May 12, 1994, and subsequent  agreements, Azerbaijan unleashed a new full-scale military aggression  against Artsakh with the direct involvement of Turkey and  international terrorists.  By its actions, Azerbaijan violated the  provisions of the UN Charter, as well as OSCE, Council of Europe and  international commitments as a whole. 

In particular, Baku violated such fundamental principles as the  non-use or threat of force, peaceful settlement of disputes, respect  for human rights and fundamental freedoms, equal rights, including  the right of peoples to decide their own destiny and the faithful  implementation of obligations under international law.  

The totality of the wrongful acts of Azerbaijan, including  non-observance of the principle of pacta sunt servanda (agreements  must be kept), unleashing a war of aggression, cooperation with  international terrorists and their use to suppress by force the  inalienable right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination,  deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects with the use  of prohibited types of indiscriminate weapons, torture and murder of  Armenian prisoners of war, illegal detention of prisoners of war and  civilian captives, destruction of cultural heritage and illegal  occupation, constitute crimes, which entail international legal  responsibility. 

The ceasefire achieved through the mediation of the Russian  Federation on November 10, 2020, does not remove Azerbaijan's  responsibility for violation of their previous obligations, committed  war crimes, mass atrocities and the ongoing systematic violations of  the norms and principles of international law.  

The outcomes of Azerbaijan's latest armed aggression against Artsakh  are illegal, since they were the consequence of illegitimate use of  force, as well as gross violations of human rights committed by the  Azerbaijani side. Baku's attempts to consolidate the imposed in such  a way and, therefore, unlawful current state of affairs cannot be  accepted, have no prospects and must be condemned and rejected by the  relevant international organizations, by all responsible members of  the international community, since illegal acts do not create law.  

Restoring lasting peace, in our view, implies redressing the  consequences of the recent armed aggression, which includes the  liberation of the occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh,  release and repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages,  as well as conducting negotiations in good faith under the auspices  of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship to achieve a comprehensive  settlement of the Azerbaijan- Karabakh conflict.>