Azerbaijan sends letter of protest to UN Secretary General

The letter reads: “According to mass media reports, in early September President Serzh Sargsyan of the Republic of Armenia visited the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The purpose of the visit was to participate in the events organized on the occasion of “independence day” of the self-declared separatist entity illegally established by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Simultaneously, Minister for Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian of the Republic of Armenia and accompanying high-ranking Armenian diplomats visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan as part of the annual meeting of heads of diplomatic missions of Armenia.

My Government considers the aforementioned visits to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and bellicose rhetoric as an open challenge to the ongoing efforts towards the soonest political settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In fact, Armenia undertook yet another attempt to justify its annexation policy and mislead the international community by means of blatant distortion of facts as to the origin and essence of the ethnically established puppet separatist entity which the world declines to recognize.

The ritualistic visit of the high-ranking officials and diplomats of Armenia to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan to commemorate the events, which became a starting point of large-scale war between the two States and caused incalculable human sufferings, testifies that Armenia fails to fulfill its most basic and compelling responsibilities and gives preference to escalation with unpredictable consequences.

It is essential to recall, in this regard, that the Security Council has consistently reaffirmed both sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and inadmissibility of use of force for the acquisition of territory. It has also recognizes that Nagorny Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan and has called on a number of occasions for immediate, full and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Further, the General Assembly directly reaffirmed in resolution 62/243 of 14 March, 2008, entitled “The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan”, continued respect and support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders as a basis for the settlement of the conflict.

The Republic of Armenia must realize that, for its own good and in the interests of lasting peace, stability and mutually beneficial cooperation in the region, there is n o alternative other than solving the conflict based on respect for the territorial integrity and inviolability of  internationally recognizes borders. The Republic of Azerbaijan will never accept a solution compromising its territorial integrity, ignoring the rights of its people and legalizing the current status quo.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 13 and 18, and of the Security Council.”

/APA/