Trend:
There is no other way for sustainable development of Armenia, rather than withdrawal of troops from occupied Azerbaijani lands, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press service told Trend on Oct. 14.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry was commenting on the resolution adopted during the 17th summit of the Organization of La Francophonie in which there is a point about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"The Resolution on “Crisis situations, Getting out of crisis and Peace-building in the Francophone Area” adopted at the 17th summit of the Organization of La Francophonie contains a paragraph on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It reaffirms full support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and calls on to promote a climate conducive to peace, and implement previous agreements as well as urge to resume the process of negotiations aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict based on the fundamental principles of the Helsinki Final Act, inter alia the non-use of force or threat, territorial integrity, equal rights and the self-determination of peoples," said the press service.
The Foreign Ministry noted that according to the language of the Helsinki Final Act the responsibility for use of force falls on Armenia, as this country continues its aggression against Azerbaijan and keeps Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan under military occupation.
"We would like to underline that the Helsinki Final Act clearly declares that “States will refrain in their mutual relations, as well as in their international relations in general, from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State”. When it comes to the principle of self determination of peoples the Helsinki Final Act reads concretely the following “The participating States will respect the equal rights of peoples and their right to self-determination, acting at all times in conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and with the relevant norms of international law, including those relating to territorial integrity of States”. I believe the document is self explanatory enough and there is no room for any further explanation and interpretation," said the ministry.
Despite the efforts of Armenia to misuse the Organization of La Francophonie, the Summit Resolution states that the Helsinki Final Act constitutes the basis of the conflict settlement, said the Foreign Ministry.
"Armenia should stop its unsuccessful attempts to mislead the international community and start fulfilling its commitments, especially withdrawing its armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, according to the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the Helsinki Final Act. We believe that after the elections in Armenia the new government of the country will recognize that there is no other way for sustainable development of Armenia, rather than withdrawal of its troops from occupied Azerbaijani lands," said the ministry.
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.