Statement on "The aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh and Armenia with the direct involvement of Turkey and foreign terrorist fighters" as delivered by Ambassador Armen Papikyan at the 1325th meeting of the Permanent Council

22 July, 2021

Mr. Chairperson,

The Armenian delegation would like to inform the Permanent Council about the deteriorating situation on the western segment of the Armenia‑Azerbaijan State border following the provocations instigated by the Azerbaijani armed forces on 14 July near the village of Yeraskh in the Republic of Armenia, which resulted in the death of a soldier, Samvel Alaverdyan, who was killed by sniper fire.

On 19 July 2021, Azerbaijan further escalated the situation by shelling the positions of the Armenian armed forces, using in particular mortars and incendiary ammunition. Not only were the border posts of the Armenian armed forces targeted but also the adjacent territories. The fire caused by the use of incendiary ammunition affected the nearby village of Yeraskh. Moreover, the head of the community of Yeraskh, who was co‑ordinating the work of the emergency services, was wounded.

To escalate the situation even further, the Azerbaijani armed forces on the same day also opened fire on border positions of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of Gegharkunik Province in the eastern part of Armenia.

These provocative and hostile actions are not isolated incidents but, rather, premeditated and planned attacks with far‑reaching intentions. They occurred immediately after the president of Azerbaijan, in yet another defiant and bellicose public appearance, made false territorial and historical claims against Armenia and its sovereign territory.

Considering also the earlier incursion by the Azerbaijani armed forces into Armenian sovereign territory in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik, these latest developments clearly demonstrate that the regime in Baku is trying to create new hotbeds of tension along the entire border with Armenia, both in the east and west, further undermining regional peace and security.

Moreover, the Azerbaijani authorities – by means of their provocations along the Armenia‑Azerbaijan State border, their incursion into Armenian territory and their territorial claims against Armenia – are trying to remove the Nagorno‑Karabakh conflict from the international agenda.

The consistently provocative actions by Azerbaijan are part of a pattern and point to a meticulously planned course of action aimed at further escalating the situation along the entire border with Armenia and along the line of contact between Artsakh and Azerbaijan. It is clear that Azerbaijan in this way is trying to torpedo the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020, which it is apparently not in a position to fulfil, whereas Armenia has implemented all of that statement’s provisions.

Mr. Chairperson,

The trilateral ceasefire statement signed on 9 November 2020 by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation put an end to the hostilities and the war of aggression. However, just a few days after it was signed, Azerbaijan started to flagrantly violate its provisions. The first grave violation occurred on 11 December 2020, when the special forces of Azerbaijan launched an attack on Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd, the two villages of the Hadrut region that had remained under Armenian control at the time the ceasefire was signed. Azerbaijan captured 64 Armenian soldiers during that attack – a military operation that violated the first paragraph of the statement, whereby the parties “shall stop in their current positions”.

Subsequently, Azerbaijan refused to repatriate the Armenian prisoners of war, making them out to be “terrorists”, prosecuting them and holding mock trials, thereby flagrantly violating not only international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions of 1949, but also paragraph 8 of the trilateral statement of 9 November, which unequivocally lays down that the parties should exchange prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees.

Azerbaijan is also engaged in the demolition of houses and other property in the occupied territories of Artsakh to rule out any possibility of the safe and dignified return of Armenian refugees and displaced population to their homes, thereby violating the seventh paragraph of the aforementioned trilateral statement, which stipulates: “Internally displaced persons and refugees shall return to the territory of Nagorno‑Karabakh and adjacent areas under the supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.”

Furthermore, paragraph 9 of the statement of 9 November begins: “All economic and transport connections in the region shall be unblocked.” There is not a single provision in the statement specifying the geographical location or area of any of the transport routes that should be used or constructed to unblock the economic infrastructure of the region. Azerbaijan’s deliberate distortion of the sense of that paragraph is therefore aimed at further derailing the implementation of the statement and justifying its territorial claims against Armenia.

These are not just failures on the part of the Azerbaijani authorities but a sign of their true intentions.

The inadequate response by the international community to the use of force and the mass atrocities perpetrated against the people of Artsakh, including ethnic cleansing, encouraged Azerbaijan to make the use of force a permanent feature of its policy toolbox, thereby threatening regional security and peace.

Moreover, the inexplicable displays of diplomatic support for the ambitions of Azerbaijan by some participating States that have been engaging in questionable initiatives are detrimental to efforts aimed at rebuilding trust and establishing a lasting and sustainable peace.

Mr. Chairperson,

The actions of Azerbaijan clearly constitute a grave violation of the principles of international law and of the Helsinki Final Act, as well as of that country’s specific commitments. Armenia expects a clear reaction from its international partners to such violations by Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s actions on the ground stand in stark contrast to the fine talk about “peace” and “coexistence” in which the Azerbaijani delegation and its supporters here at the OSCE so like to indulge. We have repeatedly drawn the attention of participating States to this fact, pointing to the insincerity and deceptive nature of such pronouncements.

By constantly raising the level of tensions – not least through military provocations in Artsakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as evidenced by the recent incidents – Azerbaijan aims to postpone indefinitely and endlessly the resumption of the Nagorno‑Karabakh peace process and, ultimately, the settlement of the conflict. Only the resumption of the Nagorno‑Karabakh peace process under the auspices of the Co‑Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group can create the conditions for lasting peace in the region.

Additionally, Azerbaijan’s provocative actions, including the obstacles it is throwing in the way of resumption of the Nagorno‑Karabakh peace process, make it impossible to start discussions on delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border – an issue that the Prime Minister of Armenia has publicly referred to on several occasions.

Armenia is willing to engage in the Nagorno‑Karabakh peace process in good faith and will continue to act consistently in support of the people of Artsakh’s realization of their right to self‑determination, despite the efforts of Azerbaijan to remove that issue from the international agenda by all means, not least by denying the very existence of Artsakh and its people. The international community must reject such an approach in the strongest possible terms.

Mr. Chairperson,

The current situation in Nagorno‑Karabakh is the result of a flagrant violation by Azerbaijan of several core principles of the Helsinki Final Act, namely refraining from the threat or use of force; peaceful settlement of disputes; equal rights and self‑determination of peoples; and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. No one should be under any illusion that the results of the use of force, accompanied by war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law, can ever become the basis for a lasting and sustainable peace. Such a peace can only be achieved in the region through a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno‑Karabakh conflict, which must include determining the status of Artsakh on the basis of the realization by the people of Artsakh of their inalienable right to self‑determination, ensuring the safe and dignified return of recently displaced population to their homes, and preserving the cultural and religious heritage of the region.

Mr. Chairperson,

I kindly ask you to attach this statement to the journal of today’s meeting.

Thank you.

MFA RA
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