Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 17

By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:

Armenia is barbarously exploiting natural resources in the occupied Azerbaijani territories and is causing environmental damage to these lands, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s acting spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva said.

She made the remarks Nov. 17 at an international conference entitled “Illegal activity in the occupied Azerbaijani territories and the responsibility of third parties” in Baku.

She noted that the illegal activities of Armenia in the occupied territories primarily violate the laws of Azerbaijan.

She said that at the same time, this fact is gross violation of the principles and norms of international law.

“As a result, these facts should be regarded as violation of the principle of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as well as the requirements of the Geneva Convention,” she noted. “It is obvious that Armenia is trying by any means to continue occupying foreign territories and consolidate the status quo in order to further strengthen its military presence in Azerbaijani territories.”

Abdullayeva added that all these steps negatively affect the entire region.

“The resettlement policy of ethnic Armenians to occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region demonstrates the attempts of the Armenian side to change the demographic background in the territory of Azerbaijan, and this fact shouldn’t remain outside the attention of the international community,” she said. “The facts of settlement of Syrian Armenians in the occupied Azerbaijani territories are intended not only to improve the demographic situation of Armenia, but also to create real obstacles for the return to Nagorno-Karabakh of the Azerbaijanis expelled from their native land.”

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.