Baku, Azerbaijan, June 28

Trend:

Grossly violating the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, Armenia occupied Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory by using military force, Spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev told Trend June 28.

Hajiyev made the remarks in connection with the comment of the Armenian Foreign Ministry about the military exercises planned to be held by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

"By continuing the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories and illegal military activity there, Armenia openly violates the fundamental principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and deployment of armed forces in a country’s territory with the consent of the host country. Under the OSCE Vienna Document, those principles are a basis for strengthening of confidence-building measures and security,” Hajiyev added.

“Moreover, Armenia conceals a great part of its military potential by concentrating a big number of military equipment and personnel in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” he said. “As a result, in violation of the principle of reciprocity implied in the Vienna Document, Armenia continues to give wrong information about its military potential and its activity, and grossly violates its obligations. Such attitude of Armenia is a manifestation of irresponsibility, disrespect for the norms and principles of international law."

“The fact of occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories by the Armenian armed forces and the continuation of the use of force against Azerbaijan by Armenia are still the main threats to regional peace and security,” Hajiyev added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.