BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 14
Trend:
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gave an interview to the HARDtalk program on the BBC TV channel, Trend reports.
Pashinyan was interviewed by journalist Stephen Sackur. In the BBC HARDtalk program, guests are asked critical and challenging questions, and Pashinyan found himself helpless under such pressure.
Replying to a question about the hostilities in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district in July, Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of being "the first to attack."
In response to this statement, the presenter noted: “You claim that the last conflict was unleashed by Azerbaijan, but the other side says the opposite, and we will not be able to clarify this in this program. However, one thing is clear: you have taken a number of provocative steps so far that have exacerbated the situation. For example, why did you, while visiting Stepanakert [Khankandi] in August last year, say 'Artsakh is Armenia' in your speech? It was an open provocation against Azerbaijan.”
Pashinyan could not clearly answer this question. Instead, he resorted to traditional historical lies, claiming that Armenians have lived in Nagorno-Karabakh for millennia.
Further, interrupting Pashinyan, Sackur asked an even harsher question.
“You are violating four resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly on the conflict, which demand the unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani lands. According to international law, your troops are carrying out occupation, and you go there and declare that these territories are yours. Obviously, you are not creating the peace there,” Sackur noted.
Pashinyan once again avoided answering, saying that Azerbaijan allegedly carried out ethnic cleansing in the early 1990s against the Armenians living in Karabakh.
The presenter then questioned Pashinyan about the construction of a road to Nagorno-Karabakh.
He asked: “I know that your government is building a road from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. This road passes through the territory of Azerbaijan. A number of European MPs in Brussels specializing in Caucasian politics reviewed the plan and considered it a violation of international law. According to MPs, this will strengthen the illegal occupation of Karabakh. Will you stop the construction of this road?"
Once again, instead of providing a clear answer, Pashinyan mumbled that the road was not being built by the Armenian government.
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, 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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.