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 1344th meeting of the Permanent Council

11 November, 2021

Madam Chairperson,

I should like to start by informing the Permanent Council of the situation on the ground a year after the signing on 9 November 2020 of the trilateral ceasefire statement which put an end to the war of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh with the direct support and participation of Turkey and Turkish-backed foreign terrorist fighters and jihadists.

The war of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan and its allies against the 150,000 people of Artsakh was unprecedented in its scale and intensity, lasting for 44 days and being accompanied by numerous flagrant violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including deliberate targeting of civilian settlements and infrastructure, use of internationally banned indiscriminate and incendiary weapons, inhuman treatment and murder of prisoners of war and civilian captives, and other war crimes, leaving thousands killed and tens of thousands wounded and displaced. And the tragedy of this bloody war is that it did not bring us any closer to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

As a result of the war, a significant part of the territory of Artsakh was subjected to ethnic cleansing and many civilians became victims of war crimes and atrocities committed with particular brutality. During the past year, we have presented many such facts to the OSCE Permanent Council, in many cases backed up with video and photo evidence. The war was a real disaster for the people of Artsakh, who were already deprived of international support and assistance on account of the COVID pandemic. In particular, 40,000 people lost their homes and property, more than 17,000 civilian facilities and infrastructure were destroyed, hundreds of civilians were killed or injured, and the fate of many others still remains unknown.

One year after the signing of the trilateral statement and the establishment of the ceasefire, more than a hundred Armenian prisoners of war and civilians continue to be held captive in Azerbaijan, in violation of all the norms of international humanitarian law as well as of paragraph 8 of the trilateral statement.

Following the war, Azerbaijan also embarked on the destruction and appropriation of the objects of Armenian historical and religious heritage in the territories that came under its control, in order to erase all traces of Armenian presence there. Moreover, according to reports, Azerbaijan is engaged in activities aimed at radically changing the demographic composition of the region by relocating terrorists and their family members from the Middle East and elsewhere.

Madam Chairperson,

Throughout the year, Armenia and Artsakh have consistently complied with the provisions of the 9 November trilateral statement, while just one month after the signing of the statement Azerbaijan returned to its usual tactic of violations and provocations, as had been the case during the whole period following the 1994 trilateral ceasefire agreement signed by Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

It is worth recalling that in December 2020, in flagrant violation of the trilateral statement of 9 November, Azerbaijani armed forces attacked and occupied the villages of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher in the Hadrut region of Artsakh, killing several Armenian soldiers and capturing dozens, most of whom are still illegally detained in Azerbaijan.

The plight of the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages held by Azerbaijan contrary to and in violation of the requirements of international humanitarian law and the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020 continues to remain the most pressing issue. Even after a whole year, it still remains unresolved.

At the same time, Azerbaijan continues to conceal the real number of Armenian prisoners of war, thus putting them at risk of enforced disappearance. Moreover, the mock trials and the imposition of lengthy sentences on bogus charges against prisoners of war clearly demonstrate the anti-Armenian hatred policy and smear campaign that is being conducted in Azerbaijan from the highest levels downwards.

Dear colleagues,

Throughout the year, Azerbaijan deliberately and systematically violated the ceasefire and committed provocative actions both along the line of contact with Artsakh and also, following the illegal incursion by its armed units into the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia on 12 May 2021 and their presence there ever since then, on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as well, which led to civilian and military casualties and escalation of tensions.

As a result of these violations and provocations, two civilians and nine servicemen were killed, and 37 people, including nine civilians, were wounded.

Residential areas and houses close to the line of contact in Artsakh or on the border of Armenia with Azerbaijan are under constant threat of gunfire.

After the killing by sniper fire of Aram Tepnants, a farmer from the occupied village of Mataghis who was working in a field near the town of Martakert in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, Azerbaijani authorities initiated another attack on civilians carrying out construction works near the Stepanakert-Shushi road in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers. It should be noted that the Azerbaijani military authorities were properly notified about the construction work. But this did not prevent peaceful workers from being shot at by an Azerbaijani officer in cold blood and at point-blank range. As a result of this crime, one civilian was killed, Martik Yeremyan aged 22, and three others were seriously wounded.

Another case was reported just two days ago in the Khachik village of Armenia, when a farmer came under fire while working in the field. These attacks on peaceful residents of the border regions are clearly intended to terrorize the border residents, just as the repeated acts of cattle-rustling and arson on pastures and hayfields are intended to deprive them of their livelihoods.

Madam Chairperson,

The 44-day war and its aftermath has resulted in a further upsurge of already deeply rooted anti-Armenian hatred and hate propaganda, which has been fostered, promoted and directed by the political leadership of Azerbaijan at the highest level.

Recently, the European Court of Human Rights delivered yet another ruling on the cases of Mamikon Khojoyan, a 77-year-old resident of the Armenian village of Verin Karmirakhbyur, and Karen Petrosyan, a resident of the village of Chinari. Mr. Karen Petrosyan died in Azerbaijani captivity, Mr. Mamikon Khojoyan shortly after returning to his homeland. Both were subjected to torture and inhumane or degrading treatment. The Court recognized that Baku violated the Armenian prisoners’ right to life, liberty and security of person.

Even though Armenophobia has been the outstanding feature of Azerbaijan’s political, cultural, civic, economic and other policies for the last several decades, today, in conditions of total impunity with respect to violations of international laws and norms, and in the face of the apparent inability of the international community and its multilateral mechanisms to prevent, deter and punish such gross violations of the norms and principles of international law and international humanitarian law, the language and rhetoric used by the Azerbaijani leader and Azerbaijan’s State bodies and officials has gone beyond all norms of civilized political discourse and common decency, sliding into vulgarity and crassness.

We hear this kind of language and performance on an almost daily basis, the last examples being the statement of the president of that country made in Shushi in the presence of the Minister of Defence of Turkey, and the statement of the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan.

We consider it beneath us to even consider commenting on those statements. But I would advise those who consistently and enthusiastically call upon Armenia to engage in various initiatives aimed at establishing trust and confidence to read the statements of the Azerbaijani officials carefully, in order to enhance their understanding of the situation and their awareness of the prospects for trust and confidence.

Madam Chairperson,

Throughout the 44-day war of aggression and thereafter, the Armenian delegation has been persistently calling on the OSCE and its participating States to react and take a firm stand regarding the gross violations of two founding principles of the Organization, namely, the non-use of force and the peaceful settlement of conflicts.

Apparently, our calls have fallen on deaf ears, as we have seen little to no reaction from the Chairperson‑in‑Office, from the relevant OSCE structures, or from the participating States, which are otherwise so quick to react and condemn other such occurrences in the OSCE area.

We regret that our distinguished Chairperson‑in‑Office, who is vigilant regarding violations of OSCE commitments in other cases and as a rule reacts to them swiftly, kept silent when heinous crimes were committed against people of Artsakh, when the territorial integrity of Armenia was violated, and when the civilian peaceful population was targeted, and continues to do so now when the threat or use of force and aggression is becoming normal.

One would also of course expect that the Personal Representative of the Chairperson‑in‑Office on the Nagorno‑Karabakh conflict would have drawn the attention of the Chairperson‑in‑Office to the gravity of the situation, but we presume that this was not the case, especially as the said Personal Representative has himself been absent from the region for more than a year.

This obvious lack of proper reaction from the OSCE, which has created an environment of complete impunity, now allows the Azerbaijani delegation to actively promote its anti‑Armenian narratives and propaganda even here at the OSCE. Introducing the current issue to glorify the war with its killings and other crimes against humanity is an affront to the Organization’s values, ideas and principles, and demonstrates the disrespect in which Azerbaijan holds the OSCE and all it stands for.

Madam Chairperson,

The realities created as a result of the use of force by Azerbaijan against Artsakh and its people cannot create a basis for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan’s claims that as a result of the war the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Nagorno‑Karabakh itself do not exist in the international arena any more are also violations of the 9 November trilateral statement, in which Nagorno-Karabakh is presented as a territorial entity in its own right.

Conditions for ensuring lasting peace and stability in the region can only be created by the full implementation of the trilateral statements of 9 November 2020 and 11 January 2021, particularly the immediate resolution of urgent humanitarian issues, primarily the unconditional repatriation of all prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons, the clarification of the fate of missing persons, and the investigation of the enforced disappearances, as well as the protection of Armenian cultural and religious heritage, and the full resumption of the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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; the 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 be achieved in the region only through a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which must include the determination of the status of Artsakh on the basis of the realization by the people of Artsakh of their inalienable right to self‑determination; the ensuring of the safe and dignified return of displaced population to their homes; and the preservation of the region’s historical and religious heritage.

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

Thank you.

MFA RA
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