Armenia has been, remains the most constructive in implementing trilateral statements: MFA’s response to Azerbaijani FM

It’s Azerbaijan, not Armenia, that obstructs the complete implementation of the 2020 November 9 and the 2021 January 11 statements signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry told ARMENPRESS, responding to the statements of Azerbaijani foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

Question: During a joint press conference with the Foreign Minister of Serbia, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan accused Armenia of obstructing the implementation of the November 9 trilateral statement. How would you comment on this statement?

Answer: When referring to the implementation of trilateral statements of November 9, 2020 and January 21, 2021 one should be guided by clear facts and not arbitrary interpretations of those statements. And the facts are as follows:

A month after signing the Statement, the Azerbaijani armed forces violated its first provision, according to which the sides should remain in their positions, and launched an attack on the villages of Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd in the region of Hadrut, as a result of which these settlements were occupied, the Armenian soldiers were killed and captured.

Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan did not fulfill the 8th provision of the November 9 statement, which enshrines the exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees. Moreover, Armenian prisoners of war are being prosecuted, which is also a gross violation of international humanitarian law.

Since May 12, the armed forces of Azerbaijan have infiltrated and continue to stay in the sovereign territory Republic of Armenia. It is noteworthy that Azerbaijani troops infiltrated into the Republic of Armenia from the territories over which Azerbaijan established control following the implementation of the Statement of November 9. In other words, the constructive approach of the Armenian side to implement the Statement was opposed by Azerbaijan`s policy of disrupting regional security and peace by the encroachment on the territorial integrity of Armenia The fact that the Azerbaijani military units are in the territory of Armenia was accepted by the President of Azerbaijan, noting that “Zangezur is the land of our ancestors”.

Recently, Azerbaijan has been making statements denying Nagorno Karabakh as a territorial entity, which in turn violates Provision 7 of the Statement, where the parties, including Azerbaijan, agreed on the term "Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent area...