Saturday, April 2 2022 14:15

ArmInfo. Below is a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno-Karabakh.  

"Six years ago, on the night of April 2, 2016, the Azerbaijani armed  forces, violating the May 12, 1994 Agreement on full cessation of  fire and hostilities and February 6, 1995 Agreement on strengthening  the ceasefire, launched treacherous aggression against the Republic  of Artsakh.

"For four days, the Azerbaijani armed forces had attempted assaults  along the entire length of the Line of Contact, employing heavy  weaponry, artillery and aircraft. However, after suffering heavy  losses in manpower and equipment and failing to achieve its goals,  the Azerbaijani side, through the mediation of the Russian  Federation, was forced to cease the hostilities. But, the shelling of  the border settlements of Artsakh continued until late April.

"The Azerbaijani aggression was accompanied by numerous war crimes,  including torture, premeditated murders and mockery of the bodies of  the deceased, committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces against both  the military personnel and the civilian population of the Republic of  Artsakh.

"The April 2016 aggression became a touchstone, among other things,  to test the reaction of the international community to the violation  of the UN Charter and international obligations by Azerbaijan.  The  fact that these illegal actions did not entail any serious political  and legal consequences for Baku only strengthened the confidence of  the Azerbaijani authorities in the permissiveness and the prevalence  of force over international law.

"Both the April 2016 war and the subsequent 44-day aggression of  Azerbaijan in 2020, despite their local nature, became a real test  for the entire system of international relations. Impunity for  unleashing aggressive wars has led to the undermining of such  fundamental principles of international law as non-use of force,  peaceful settlement of disputes, conscientious fulfillment of  international obligations, etc.

"Taking into account that the Azerbaijani authorities refuse to  negotiate for a peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabagh  conflict, continue to violate their obligations and do not halt the  aggressive actions, we expect the international community to take  concrete political steps to guarantee the realization by the people  of Artsakh of their collective human rights and freedoms, without any  restrictions."