BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 8
Armenia is making attempts to illegally resettle the Armenians from some countries of the Middle East to Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent regions, which are internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, Spokesperson for Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs Leyla Abdullayeva said.
Abdullayeva made the statement commenting on the reports of some media sources about alleged resettlement of Lebanese of Armenian origin to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan after the blast in Lebanon.
“As you know, the illegal activities of Armenia in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories of Azerbaijan, as well as the policy of illegal settlement, are raised by us within the framework of international organizations. This is not the first time that Armenia, using the situation in the region for its disgusting purposes, has attempted to illegally resettle the Armenian population from some Middle East countries to Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions of Azerbaijan, which are internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan,” Abdullayeva said.
In her words, the fact of illegal settlement carried out by Armenia was also recorded in the reports of the OSCE fact-finding missions.
“Of course, these Armenian actions are a gross violation of international humanitarian law, as well as of the 1949 Geneva Convention and its additional protocols. The goal of the Armenia is to artificially increase the number of Armenians on the occupied lands, change these territories ethnically and culturally, and thereby carry out a policy of annexation,” Abdullayeva said.
“We expressed our serious dissatisfaction with Armenia’s policy of illegal settlement in the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, as well as with Armenia’s intention to use the tragedy in Lebanon for its own illegal purposes to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. Armenia must understand that these illegal actions and attempts at artificial settlement will not give the results expected by the official Yerevan. The Azerbaijani population of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories will return to their homes, and Armenia will be held accountable for all its illegal actions,” she said.
“Our demand to put an end to the policy of Armenia on resettling people in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan will continue to be resolutely put forward before the international community, “she said.
