Armenia again confirms it being occupant state - Foreign Ministry

By Trend

The scenario of Armenia's declaration of war against Azerbaijan is yet another confirmation that Armenia is an occupant state, spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend on Sept. 13.

He mentioned that the war, started by Armenia against Azerbaijan, has been going on for more than 27 years.

"The scenario of declaring war on Azerbaijan as part of its military command and staff exercises "Shant-2018" by Armenia is another confirmation and recognition of the obvious fact that Armenia is an invader state and an aggressor. It also demonstrates the archaic and feudal mentality of new military and political leadership of Armenia," Hajiyev said.

Hajiyev stressed that Azerbaijan is taking constructive steps towards resolving the conflict through substantive negotiations mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and acting jointly with other neighboring states as an author of comprehensive regional cooperation projects serving common prosperity.

Meanwhile, on the other hand the new Armenian government continues the military dictatorship policy of the Sargsyan regime, putting the region face to face with new military adventures and threats, he said.

"Thus, the international community is witnessing a gap that separates Armenia an the civilized world. Failure to provide effective international political and diplomatic pressure on Armenia leads to an increase in its claims with impunity. We reiterate that the Armenian leadership is to blame for the disruption of the negotiation process, the escalation of tension and the militaristic "war game" adventures," Hajiyev said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.