Foreign Minister gives interview to Russian “Natsionalnaya Oborona” magazine

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov gave an interview to the Russian magazine “Natsionalnaya Oborona” magazine.

- Mr. Bayramov, what are the reasons that led to the large-scale combat operations on the line of contact between the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and Armenian troops in Nagorno-Karabakh?

- First of all, I should explain that the Armenian military units are regular units of the Armenian armed forces stationed in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In the early 1990s, Armenia launched an armed aggression against Azerbaijan and occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding 

During the aggression, Armenian troops committed numerous war crimes, as well as shelled settlements, took hostages, killed and tortured Azerbaijani prisoners of war and civilians, including women and children. Because of the ethnic cleansing, the local Azerbaijani population in those areas was completely expelled.

As the ceasefire was declared in May 1994, the active phase of hostilities ended. However, Armenia still refused to implement the four resolutions of the UN Security Council adopted in 1993, which set out the requirements for the complete, immediate and unconditional liberation of Azerbaijani territories from occupation.

Armenia has created a toy regime in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan to cover up the consequences of its illegal actions. This step did not surprise the world community. No organization, no state in the world, by the way, including Armenia, has recognized the legitimacy of the toy regime which is under the control of Yerevan.

All these years, Armenia has purposefully pursued a policy of aggression, ignoring the norms and principles of international law and numerous decisions of major international organizations. It has organized mass resettlement of ethnic Armenians from Armenia and other countries to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The occupiers are savagely destroying the cultural and historical heritage of Azerbaijan, renaming settlements and savagely exploiting natural resources.

Armenia's position behind the negotiating table is unconstructive, aiming to gain time to consolidate the consequences of aggression and occupation. Moreover, Armenia regularly violated the ceasefire, firing on both the positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces and the civilian population living along the line of contact in Azerbaijan. Thus, Armenia was, in fact, carrying out terrorist tactics by taking our civilians hostage.

Such tactics of the Armenian side aggravated the situation in the conflict zone in April 2016. The events of September 27 this year were the final straw. Early on Sunday morning, Armenian troops, acting on the plan they applied on June 22, 1941, fired fiercely on Azerbaijani military positions and peaceful settlements along the line of contact. They inflicted heavy artillery strikes at villages and settlements in Azerbaijan's Aghdam, Tartar, Jabrayil and Fizuli regions. There were dead and injured among Azerbaijani citizens. Houses, schools, hospitals were destroyed.

In such a case, the Azerbaijani side was forced to take urgent measures. The main purpose of the counter-offensive operations of the Azerbaijani troops was to protect the civilian population from further attacks.

- In general, how does the "Pashinyan factor" affect the situation?

-Yes, it affects, very strongly. The situation is a logical consequence of the irresponsible policy of the new Armenian leadership. After coming to power in the spring of 2018 as a result of the Soros coup, Pashinyan appealed to the President of Azerbaijan to give him time to study the situation in the conflict in more detail, and promised to show a constructive approach to the peace process. President Aliyev took a constructive approach to this request, believing that common sense and good will would prevail in the Armenian leadership. Unfortunately, Pashinyan and his administration chose a different path.

Pashinyan and his administration have practically started the process of escalating the situation around the conflict since coming to power. One of their first steps was to send the nephew of the new Prime Minister of Armenia to serve in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, not in Armenia. This was, in fact, the first political signal and the beginning of a PR campaign. Pashinyan began frequent visits to the occupied territories, and in one such visit, he personally put forward the slogan "Karabakh is Armenia and full stop." This slogan clearly showed Pashinyan’s real approach to the settlement of the conflict, because if we assume that Karabakh is Armenia, with whom and what should Azerbaijan negotiate, and what do such negotiations mean?

On July 12-16 this year, the Armenian armed forces committed a large-scale military provocation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border near Tovuz region, which, by the way, is far from the Karabakh conflict zone. Because of artillery shelling of our positions and villages, Azerbaijani servicemen were killed. The only civilian victim on both sides of the artillery fire was a 76-year-old resident of an Azerbaijani village, who died in an explosion in the yard of his house far from the border due to the artillery shelling from the territory of Armenia.

On August 23, in the Goranboy part of the line of contact, an Armenian provocative intelligence group attempted to seize positions of Azerbaijani troops. The Azerbaijani side suppressed the attempt, took prisoner the commander of the provocation group and confessed that the group aimed to commit terrorist acts against the civilian population of Azerbaijan.

Armenia shamelessly uses the tragic events in other countries for its own purposes. For example, after the devastating explosion in Beirut on August 4 this year, Azerbaijan provided $1 million for aid to Lebanon. Armenia has launched a campaign to resettle ethnic Armenians from Lebanon in the occupied territories of our country.

In order to disrupt the negotiation process completely, Pashinyan put forward seven obvious absurd preconditions for the resumption of the negotiation process in Azerbaijan.

All these steps today allow us to better understand the logic of the purposeful policy of the Pashinyan administration, which led to the events of September 27, 2020.

- How do you assess the reaction of the international community to the events in Nagorno-Karabakh?

-Unfortunately, among the factors that led to the events of September 27, the position of the international community is not active enough. Armenia has grossly violated international law by committing aggression against Azerbaijan and continuing to occupy Azerbaijani territories. Even the adoption of the four UN Security Council resolutions was not enough to end the Armenian aggression and eliminate its consequences.

We remember well the very prompt and full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions in some international crises and conflicts. As for the Armenian aggression, the resolutions, unfortunately, remained on paper. Armenia refused to comply with UN resolutions, but no one in the world demanded an answer from this aggressor state. Unfair practices such as double standards are obvious.

The lack of the necessary practical reaction of the international community has created a euphoria of victory and an illusion on the Armenian side and that it can do whatever it wants. I would like to remind you that the Pashinyan administration has been preparing for the events of September 27 for more than two years. They should be stopped at every stage, after the next provocative statement or action. Every political and diplomatic opportunities were available for this. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Instead, we heard standard statements addressed to Armenia and Azerbaijan that were neutral, calling for peace and aimed at maintaining balance between the two sides. Such an approach proved to be useless. It is unfair and wrong to equate the aggressor with the victim of aggression, the aggressor with the victim of occupation.

- What goals and objectives did Azerbaijan set for itself during the military operations? What conditions and principles are needed to suspend the hostilities?

- The main goal is to end the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and restore its territorial integrity. Armenia has occupied these territories and refuses to liberate them. We have been negotiating a peaceful settlement of this conflict since 1992, under the auspices of the OSCE, for 28 years, and we have always stressed our commitment to this format.

Unfortunately, so far we have not seen a constructive approach from Armenia. Armenia has rejected UN Security Council resolutions, decisions of the OSCE and other organizations. The Armenian leadership was prolonging the negotiation process, renouncing the agreements already reached at the negotiating table and regularly committing armed provocations in the conflict zone. This situation could not last forever.

I would like to emphasize that Azerbaijan has no territorial claims against Armenia. We do not violate the borders and we do not conduct military operations against it. The Azerbaijani armed forces operate only in the territory of Azerbaijan, within the internationally recognized borders of our country. Our actions are based on Article 51 of the UN Charter on the right to self-defense, the fundamental norms and principles of international law.

- There were reports of numerous casualties among the civilian population in the conflict zone and strikes on settlements. What information does the Azerbaijani side have about this? Is Azerbaijan committed to the Geneva Conventions relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons and the Treatment of Prisoners of War during the war?

-Unfortunately, the reports about the victims among the civilian population are true. The peculiarity of the geography of the conflict zone is that the villages, settlements and regional centers of Azerbaijan are located very close to the line of contact, which became the front line on September 27. Sometimes this distance is only a few hundred meters, which means that Armenian troops do not need long-range weapons to strike civilians. The Armenian side has always actively used this factor, even during the 1994 ceasefire. Civilians, including farmers and shepherds engaged in peaceful labor in Azerbaijan, have been the victims of such deliberate firing. 

The most terrible thing is that most of the victims are children. For example, in March 2011, Fariz Badalov, a 9-year-old schoolboy from the village of Orta Garvand in Aghdam, was killed by an Armenian sniper. Zahra Guliyeva and her grandmother were killed in a mortar attack in July 2017 in the village of Alkhanli, Fuzuli region.

As of October 13 this year, 42 Azerbaijani civilians were killed and 206 others were injured because of Armenian shelling. The fate of the Gurbanov family of five is an outrageous event. They died as a result of artillery shelling of their houses in Gashalti village of Naftalan region. Fidan Gurbanova was 14 and her brother Shahriyar was 13.

Azerbaijan is fully committed to fulfilling the requirements of the Geneva Conventions and additional protocols. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces only target military facilities. The military command of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces regularly appeals to the population of Armenia, advising them to refrain to be near such facilities.

- Yerevan claims that Turkey is on the side of Azerbaijan in combat operations. To what extent are such statements justified? Could you comment on the crash of the Armenian Su-25 attack plane?

- Turkey supports Azerbaijan's position based on the norms and principles of international law. Turkey provides moral support to Azerbaijan. The Armenian side spreads rumors about Turkey's involvement in the conflict. Probably, the Armenian propaganda is to try to justify its military failures to its citizens.

- The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed concern over the sending of illegal armed groups from some Middle Eastern countries to the conflict zone. Could you comment on this statement?

- I want to emphasize that Armenia actively used militants, terrorists and mercenaries from foreign countries, as well as the Middle East in its operations during its aggression against Azerbaijan and the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories in the early 1990s. One clear example of this is the notorious terrorist Monte Melkonian. He is known to have taken part in numerous bloody protests in various countries, including Lebanon during the civil war. Leading a group of criminals like himself, Melkonyan committed a number of terrorist acts and war crimes against Azerbaijani civilians. Melkonyan, who was killed in the Karabakh conflict zone in 1993, is now a much-revered national hero in Armenia. Armenia has never stopped criminal practices such as the use of foreign militants and mercenaries. 

Armenia's attempts to accuse Azerbaijan of allegedly using foreign militants are completely unfounded. We do not need to attract any fighters from abroad. Azerbaijan's mobilization potential is sufficient. The Azerbaijani armed forces have undergone necessary training and been equipped with modern weapons and equipment.

- Statements from Yerevan declare the possibility of recognizing the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. If this happens, what will happen next?

- Such a decision would be the culmination of the irresponsible and adventurist policy of the Armenian leadership. By acting in this way, Armenia would have completely violated the international law by ignoring the whole traditions and foundations of international relations. Armenia could have officially confirmed what we said from the first day of the conflict. Azerbaijan is a victim of Armenia's territorial claims, Armenian aggression and occupation. This would be tantamount to completely destroying the current format of negotiations on the settlement of the conflict, mediated by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, including the Russian Federation.

Such a decision by Armenia will inevitably lead to a new stage of escalation of the conflict, worsening the situation in the region. 

- How do you see the future of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijani-Armenian relations?

- The main factor is the unwillingness of the Armenian leadership to comply with the norms and principles of international law. If one of the two states makes territorial claims against the other, invades its territories and occupies its lands, it is impossible to talk about the establishment of normal relations between the two states.

It is time for the Armenian leadership to think about the situation in which their disruptive policies have led their country, the results they have achieved in the economic and social spheres, and how they have become isolated from the regional development and cooperation projects. It is time to remember that the main characteristics of true political leaders are responsibility, foresight and honesty.

We can already say with full confidence that the main reason for our success on the front was the strong military strategy implemented by President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, national unity and the morale of the Azerbaijani fighters.