BAKU, March 19. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry has called on Armenia to accept the reality which has developed after the completion of combat operation in Nagorno-Karabakh and not to lose the opportunities for reaching peace.
"We strongly call on Armenia, which cannot put up with the beginning of the return of former forces migrants, who fell victim to the policy of ethnic purges, to their home land, to recognize the reality which has developed in the region after the 44-day war and drop its aggressive steps and the revanchist policy," it said in a commentary issued in response to the Armenian foreign ministry’s statement of March 18.
Armenia "forcibly expelled around one million Azerbaijanis from their soil and its allegations that the return of Azerbaijani forced migrants to their homes is a ‘violation of the trilateral statement’ and ‘illegal settlement’ are a flagrant manifestation of hypocrisy," the ministry said.
According to Baku, the Armenian foreign ministry’s statement demonstrates that the country has not dropped its policy of hindering the return of the Azerbaijanis. The rhetoric and actions of the Armenian leadership demonstrate that "Yerevan is again unwilling to take this historic chance for peace." In violation of the trilateral agreement, Armenian has not fully withdrawn its armed forces from Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory, the ministry stressed.
"We once again call on Armenia’s political leadership to demonstrate responsible behavior, to refuse from provocations and statements, false rhetoric impairing possibilities for reaching peace which emerged after the 44-day war," the ministry said.
On Saturday, the Armenian foreign ministry issued a statement accusing Baku of "plotting a new aggression against Yerevan" and "implementing the program of resettling Azerbaijanis in a bid to eliminate any Armenian traces on the Nagorno-Karabakh territories, which have come over under its control.".