The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded to a statement made by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan about Baku's attempts to limit ICRC activities.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart on 2 February in Yerevan, the Armenian Foreign Minister highlighted the attempts of the Azerbaijani authorities to hinder the work of international organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh by stating that Azerbaijan forces ICRC, purely humanitarian organization, to fit into the policy dictated by them.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry immediately responded. Leyla Abdullayeva, head of the MFA Press Service said that the activities of international organizations in the territory of Azerbaijan, in accordance with a resolution of the UN General Assembly of December 19, 1991 "On the coordination of humanitarian assistance", must be carried out on the basis of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state. She pointed out that in accordance to that principle the activities of international organizations in the territory of Azerbaijan were implemented.
The representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reminded Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan that the activities of any international organization in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan are a subject of discussion between the international organization and Azerbaijan.
She labeled the comment of the representative of a third state as inappropriate. Leyla Abdullayeva concluded by saying that the Armenian Foreign Minister was better to comment on the issues related to the fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by the country to establish peace in the region.
Meanwhile, the resolution mentioned by the representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and its annex have a completely different meaning and context. The UN document implies the consent of the affected party to provide humanitarian assistance and, in principle, on the basis of its request. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh, as a side suffering from Azerbaijani aggression, are asking international organizations for help. However, Azerbaijan, having in reality neither legal nor factual rights to Artsakh, in violation of both OSCE and UN principles, is trying to oppose this.
The endless cynicism with which the Azerbaijani authorities refuse to help solve Artsakh's humanitarian problems should be a grave warning to the international community, confirming Baku's genocidal policy against the Armenians of Artsakh.