Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

The Delegation of Azerbaijan to the OSCE PA has made a statement on the 28th anniversary of occupation of Shusha by Armenia, Azerbaijan's Embassy to Austria published on its website on May 7.

The Azerbaijani delegation stressed that the statement of the Armenian delegation speaks volumes about how far this country is from engaging in a constructive dialogue for peace with Azerbaijan.

"What the Armenian side describes as so-called “liberation of Shusha” has been qualified by the UN Security Council as the unlawful use of force and occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan", the statement said.

It should be noted that the Armenian delegation called the occupation of Azerbaijan's Shusha city "liberation of Shusha" in its statement referring to the statement of Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Vienna on "the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II and 28th anniversary of occupation of Shusha by Armenia".

The Azerbaijani delegation also recalled that the UN Security Council in its resolutions condemned the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and reaffirmed respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders, as well as these resolutions confirmed that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is part of Azerbaijan, and demanded immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

"The short memory of Armenian representative extends also to the fact that it was exactly the attack and occupation of the Azerbaijani town of Shusha in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan that elicited first Presidential Statement by the UN Security Council, in which the Council, recalled, inter alia, the commitment of Armenia to uphold the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the principles relating to the peaceful settlement of disputes and the non-use of force, thus indicating direct involvement of Armenia in the conflict", the statement reads.

"Armenia must implement these resolutions of the UN Security Council. Azerbaijan reserves the right to restore its territorial integrity in accordance with the UN Charter", the Azerbaijani delegation noted.

The delegation also emphasized that instead of repeating its allegations, Armenia should rather reflect upon the topic of today’s Permanent Council and to draw two important lessons from the past: "The first being that the past proved at a very high price that constructing historical narratives around political goals to sustain territorial claims on its neighbours and to camouflage its annexationist aspirations is a very dangerous exercise, which can lead to nothing, but to more conflict and instability, causing more sufferings to the Armenian people", the statement reads.

The Azerbaijani delegation also made a statement on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The Azerbaijani delegation highlighted the fact that the international legal order emerged out of the World War II puts a firm prohibition on unlawful use of force for the acquisition and occupation of territory, which shall never be recognized as legal.

"This fundamental principle is at the core of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act and the foundation of this Organization. So, Armenia must understand that there can be no peace until this country refers to the unlawful occupation of territories of Azerbaijan as “liberation of territories”. Its policy will never produce the political outcome that it desires. Rather than sticking to its narrative, it should reconsider its unconstructive position in negotiation", the statement said.

Regarding the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Azerbaijani delegation also condemned glorification of Nazism, including building a monument by Armenia to Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh.

"First, building a monument in Armenia to Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh was condemned not only by Azerbaijan, but many others. Holocaust scholar and head of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, who has played a key role in bringing indicted Nazi war criminals to trial", the statement reads.

It should be noted that earlier on the same day, reminding Azerbaijan's contribution to the fight against Nazism and fascism during the WWII, as well as noting that Azerbaijan became one of the few shelters for Jews fleeing from the horrors of Holocaust, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Vienna had condemned building a monument by Armenia to Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh.

"We regret that we couldn’t join the joint statement delivered by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation on behalf of a group of participating States due to the fact that the Delegation of Armenia refused to accept inclusion of a paragraph on combating glorification of Nazism. However, there is nothing surprising in this, given the fact that a monument to a Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh was erected in Armenia and this country’s high-level officials consider him as a national hero", the ambassador said.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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