By  Trend

If the political leadership of Armenia declares its mandate to speak on behalf of the citizens of this country, then let it also speak on behalf of the citizens of Armenia from Tavush, Syunik and other provinces who are serving in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said.

She was commenting on the interview of Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to the Armenian public TV, Trend reports.

“In the above-mentioned interview by the Armenian foreign minister, the statements of the top political leadership of this country are repeated, according to which the prime minister of Armenia has no right to speak on behalf of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, while “he can speak on behalf of the people of Armenia – from Tavush to Syunik”,” said Abdullayeva. “I would like to reiterate the question already asked by us earlier: what are young citizens of Armenia, who voted for Pashinyan during the election, doing in the occupied Azerbaijani territories?!”

Abdullayeva noted that the Armenian minister may not remember the statement voiced by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in Paris Jan. 16, but probably didn’t forget the joint statement adopted by his approval Dec. 6 last year in Milan.

That statement says that the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will continue to work to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by achieving fair and sustainable peace, she added.

“The Azerbaijani side doesn’t hold meetings just for the sake of meetings, nor does it want to convince the international community of its good intentions by such meetings,” she said. “We have only one clear and legally justified goal: we are negotiating for the liberation of our territories occupied by Armenia with gross violation of the principles of international rights, and to ensure the peaceful return of Azerbaijanis living there to their native lands.”

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.