Armenian FM briefs heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Armenia  on Azerbaijan`s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh

ArmInfo.On August 4, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received the heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Armenia.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,  Minister Mirzoyan drew the ambassadors' attention to the situation  resulting from the provocative and aggressive actions of Azerbaijan  in Nagorno-Karabakh in recent days. He noted that the Azerbaijani  armed forces, once again violating the Trilateral Statement on the  secession of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone signed  by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on of November 9,  2020, carried out aggression in the area of responsibility of the  Russian peacekeeping forces, as a result of which nineteen servicemen  of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army were injured and two were  killed.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia  particularly emphasized that the Azerbaijani side has officially and  blatantly assumed the responsibility for the aggression, clearly  evidenced in the statements of the Ministry of Defence and the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, and the violations  recorded by the Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in Nagorno-  Karabakh.

Minister Mirzoyan noted that Azerbaijan's aggression was preceded by  the letter submitted to the Russian peacekeeping contingent regarding  the transfer of control over the Lachin Corridor, according to which  the Azerbaijani side plans to change the currently operating route  through the Lachin Corridor. This is a gross violation of the  Trilateral Statement of November 9 as the 6th provision of the  Statement clearly reads that the plan for the construction of a new  traffic route through the Lachin Corridor connecting Armenia with  Nagorno-Karabakh should be decided by the agreement of the parties  (i.e. Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) within the next three years,  while there is no such plan approved in a trilateral format yet.

Ararat Mirzoyan also stressed that the Azerbaijani authorities  respond to the efforts of the Armenian side to achieve stability and  peace in the region with Armeophobic rhetoric, aggressive statements,  and blatant threats of use of force. He considered Azerbaijan's  continuous policy of subjecting the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to  ethnic cleansing unacceptable. 

The Foreign Minister of Armenia also referred to the unaddressed  humanitarian issues resulting from the 44-day war, stressing that the  Azerbaijani side continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and  civilians in violation of the provisions of international  humanitarian law.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia reiterated the position of the  Armenian side on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co- Chairmanship,  which is the only international format mandated by the UN Security  Council.

It was also emphasized that in order to support the agenda of the  Armenian side to achieve peace in the South Caucasus, coordinated and  unanimous assistance of the international community is necessary.