The Azerbaijani foreign ministry considers the accusations made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan—during his visit to the Netherlands— to be "unfounded,” and they “show that the Armenian leadership is far from being sincere in the issue of normalizing relations between the two countries," Leyla Abdullayeva, Head of the Press Service Department of the Azerbaijan MFA, commented on the statements of the Prime Minister of Armenia, news.am informs.
Azerbaijan confirms that it refuses to fulfill its obligations to release all Armenian captives
STEPANAKERT, MAY 12, ARTSAKHPRESS: “The unfounded allegations made by the Armenian Prime Minister against Azerbaijan during his speech at the Clingendael Institute of International Relations in the Netherlands, including untrue accusations on humanitarian issues, show that the Armenian leadership is far from being sincere in the issue of normalizing relations between the two countries,” Abdullayeva said.
“In general, it would be incorrect to describe Armenia's submission of mine maps to Azerbaijan as a humanitarian gesture, as it was Armenia's obligation under international humanitarian law after the signing of the trilateral statement. Since the signing of the trilateral statement, 219 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by landmines,” the Azerbaijani MFA representative added.
“(...) the accusation of the Prime Minister of Armenia against Azerbaijan for not taking humanitarian steps and not returning the Armenian detainees is inappropriate and unfounded. It would be good for the Armenian leader to first understand the reasons for the detention in Azerbaijan of saboteurs of Armenian origin who entered the territory of Azerbaijan illegally,” Abdullayeva noted.
“However, the fact that the Armenian Prime Minister is still making baseless allegations against Azerbaijan seriously calls into question the country's desire to act for peace,” concluded the head of the Press Service Department of the Azerbaijan MFA.
Thus, the Azerbaijani MFA has once again put the blame on the Armenian side and confirmed that Azerbaijan refuses to carry out trilateral statement’s requirement on the release of all captives.
