Azerbaijan says Armenia has not given up ‘political manipulations’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Azerbaijan said on Wednesday that Armenia has not given up its “political manipulations,” rejecting claims made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on local television a day before.

“A number of allegations against Azerbaijan made by Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia during his interview to Public TV dated October 10, makes clear that Armenia did not give up political manipulations and distorted interpretation,” said a statement issued by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The statement said Baku reminded Yerevan that it has actively avoided participation on platforms intended to establish peace between the two countries since Dec. 2022, stating that Azerbaijan, not Armenia, is the main initiator of the peace principles, peace treaty, opening of communications, and demarcation.

Azerbaijan also expects Armenia to refrain from "territorial claims and interference against our country and other neighbors," it added.

“While referring to the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, non-use of force and non-threat of force in the document signed at the Granada meeting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan forgets that his country has violated these principles for more than 30 years,” it said.

The statement went on to define Armenia's position as unconstructive, stating that the "1975 map" referred to by Yerevan did not exist, and indicating that maps "must be based on international legal documents, including those approved in one way or another by both countries."

“While Armenia has not yet delimited its borders with any of its neighbors due to its territorial claims, Armenia’s claim that the delimitation must be on the basis of only one map, does not make sense,” it added.

The statement also denied Armenia’s claims that some Armenian villages are allegedly under Azerbaijani control, saying this is expressed “in order to justify Armenia’s keeping 8 villages of Azerbaijan under occupation.”

“While historical opportunities emerged for the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the signing of a peace treaty, and the transformation of the South Caucasus region into a place of peace and cooperation, the fact that the Prime Minister of Armenia once again put forward conditions in the peace process demonstrates that this country does not learn from history,” it concluded.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and also opened the door to normalization.

This year on Sept. 19, the Azerbaijani army initiated an anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh to establish constitutional order in the region, after which illegal separatist forces in the region surrendered.

Azerbaijan, having now established full sovereignty in the region, has reiterated its call on the Armenian population in Karabakh to become part of Azerbaijani society.