Ashraf AboArafe
It seems that the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, does not know that he is adding fuel to the fire instead of promoting peace with Azerbaijan and investing in peace efforts recently.The attempts of the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to mislead the international community on the operation of the Lachin border checkpoint, as well as the delimitation and territorial integrity issues during his speech at the government’s meeting on August 3 are indicative of Armenia’s intention to increase tensions instead of furthering the normalization efforts.
Prime Minister presenting the opening of fire on the Azerbaijan Border Guard personnel on July 15 by Armenia during the flag raising ceremony on the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, on Hakari bridge built by Azerbaijan, clearly demonstrates him justifying the illegal acts of his country.
It is well-known that claims on Azerbaijan closing down the Lachin road are groundless. Azerbaijan stated numerous times the unacceptability of transportation of cargo to Azerbaijan without prior agreement using vehicles that have been involved in transporting military vehicles, as well as other illegal goods under the guise of “humanitarian cargo” to its territory. The operation of the Lachin road is regulated by Azerbaijan and its importance for the control over the entry and exit to and from the Lachin road cannot be understated, considering Armenia abusing said road for its illegal activities on the territory of Azerbaijan during the last three years. The groundless nature of Armenia’s claims was once again proven by the July 6 decision of the ICJ unanimously rejecting the appeal for the removal of said checkpoint.
Armenian Prime Minister continuing the territorial claims against Azerbaijan and promoting the illegal regime that was created as a result of Armenia’s occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan while stating, as confirmed in the Prague meeting of October 6, 2022, that the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration determines the borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia and it being the basis of the delimitation process, clearly demonstrated Armenia’s lack of commitment to the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as the delimitation process.
We would also like to remind Armenia, which misleads the public regarding the arrest of Vagif Khachatryan, who committed crimes against humanity, that no restrictions exist in the international humanitarian law on legal action against war criminals. The arrest of the aforementioned person was conducted within the internal legislation of Azerbaijan, as well as the international law. Armenia must support the actions to bring to justice the persons who committed crimes against humanity including genocide, as well as massacres against the Azerbaijani civilian population during the 30 years long occupation period instead of attempting to shield them and cover up their acts.
If Armenia is genuinely interested in peace and stability in the region, if it supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan not only in words, but also in deeds, it must refrain from such provocative steps, and must support the use of “Aghdam-Khankendi”, as well as other alternative routes proposed by Azerbaijan to facilitate the needs of the Armenian population. Armenia must also stop obstructing the efforts of Azerbaijan to reintegrate the Armenian population.
