We are fighting for our lands in our lands -- Ambassador of Azerbaijan

By R.Ravichandran

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 5 -- Azerbaijan appreciated Malaysia's statement last Tuesday on the latest ongoing situation related to the protracted Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Azerbaijan's ambassador to Malaysia Prof. Qaley Allahverdiyev.

He said the people of Azerbaijan also fondly remember that in 2008, Malaysia was the co-sponsor of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly’s resolution No.62/243 on the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.  That resolution urges the international community to work towards a fair solution to this conflict.

Allahverdiyev said as a respected country on the international arena, Malaysia had been consistent on its position regarding the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh including at the UN and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

"Thankfully, our friendly and brotherly nation Malaysia has been demonstrating a very clear and unequivocal stance for being on the side of justice by supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan".

"We always appreciate every effort of the esteemed Government of Malaysia. In this regard, on September 29, a statement by the Malaysian MFA (Foreign Ministry) referring to the relevant resolutions of UN Security Council once again mentions Nagorno-Karabakh as a region of Azerbaijan," he told Bernama in an interview.

In the statement on last Tuesday, Kuala Lumpur, among others, said that it supports all efforts aimed at finding a peaceful settlement of the conflict based on international law, including the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. 

While joining the international community calling on Armenia and Azerbaijan to exercise maximum restraint and take concrete steps to de-escalate the tension between the two neighbours, Malaysia also urged the concerned parties to continue giving primacy to resolving the conflict amicably through dialogue and diplomacy.      

Allahverdiyev, who is also the Dean of Diplomatic Corps in Malaysia, said that what Azerbaijan is defending and fighting for is for the lands taken from the country, which is against international law.

He explained that the UN Security Council had adopted four resolutions (822, 853, 874, 884) calling Armenia immediately to withdraw its forces from the occupied areas of Azerbaijan – but Armenia disregards these and other international documents.

"So, what we are doing is that we are fighting for our lands in our lands. As the result of successful military operations, our armed forces have liberated several settlements that were under the occupation of Armenia for almost three decades," he said.

The ambassador pointed out that Azerbaijan had waited patiently for 30 long years for a political and diplomatic solution but "the Government of Armenia never showed regard for diplomatic negotiations and power of international law which have a significant role in the peaceful settlement of the conflict".

"Armenia constantly develops conceptual and doctrinal ground of its irredentist policy. In this regard, I want to refer to the very recent National Security Strategy of Armenia which was declared in July 2020. This paper blatantly defines strategic goals of Armenia in the negotiation process as safeguarding the outcomes of war. And most importantly, the new national security strategy of Armenia based on an approach of “new war for new territories,” said Allahverdiyev.

The ambassador also recalled how Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had, in August 2019, called for unification between Armenia and Karabakh, declaring “Karabakh is Armenia”, which he said had further deteriorated the prospects for a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

The renewed intense military clashes that began on September 27  had resulted in the loss of lives, including civilians on both sides. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have blamed each other for the latest clashes. In the latest development, Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of attacking civilian targets on Azerbaijan's second largest city, Ganja, yesterday, but the accusation was denied by Armenia.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, in a nationwide address to the people, said that Azerbaijan's territorial integrity must be restored and  "we are on the right path".

He had also said that the conflict can be resolved only on the basis of norms and principles of international law, within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, and that the whole world recognised Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, in a release of the press service of the President, carried by Azerbaijan State News Agency (Azertac) on Sunday, Aliyev mentioned that the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan had liberated the city of Jabrayil and nine villages of Jabrayil district from occupation. Armenia denied the claim.

"We don’t have a problem with Armenian people, they are our citizens, we have thousands Armenians living in Azerbaijan, and those who live in Nagorno-Karabakh area, we also consider them our citizens,"  the President was quoted as saying in an interview with Al Jazeera TV channel, which was released by Azertac on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was quoted as saying that Azerbaijan must accept the formula that there is no military solution for the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

Pashinyan further said that there is only a peaceful and negotiated solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and any solution must be acceptable not only to Azerbaijan but also to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh which Armenia referred to as Artsakh. He also said Armenia is ready to work on ceasefire.

President Aliyev, in a nationwide address, had said that Azerbaijan will not stop military action until Armenia provide Azerbaijan a schedule for a withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories.

The latest clash in the South Caucasus region is the most serious one after 2016. In July this year, the military of the two countries also clashed along their shared border. 

The protracted bitter conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia started in 1988 – three years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1992, a full-scale war broke out between the two former Soviet states until a ceasefire signed in May 1994. In 1991, the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence but the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is not recognised by any country in the world.

 The mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts which constitute about 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's territory are internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia.

-- BERNAMA