Foreign media
Viewers of the Japanese FAB news YouTube channel were thoroughly informed about the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
Answering the questions of host Fabiola Tsugami Shiba, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Japan, Gursel Ismayilzade, provided information about the history of Azerbaijan, the causes and consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He recalled that at the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire relocated the Armenians to Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and other territories. The settlement of Armenians in the historical lands of Azerbaijan became the policy of the Russian Empire, and as a result, they outnumbered local Azerbaijanis in these territories.
The ambassador said that in the 90s of the last century, the Armenians, who took advantage of the confusion caused by the collapse of the former USSR, carried out ethnic cleansing and either killed the Azerbaijanis or forced them to leave those territories. As a result of the war, the Armenians, with the help of their foreign patrons, occupied 20 percent of the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The number of refugees from Armenia, as well as internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, exceeds 1 million.
Giving information about the ongoing clashes, Ismayilzade noted that on September 28, the Azerbaijani Army launched a counteroffensive operation to retaliate against Armenia’s military provocations. Armenia has repeatedly committed provocations against Azerbaijan, targeting the civilian population. As a result, many civilians were killed and injured.
The diplomat emphasized that Armenia’s military and political leadership is responsible for a new escalation and referred to Armenian PM Pashinyan’s groundless statements which contradict the spirit of the negotiations mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. He added that these statements and actions, which irritated the Azerbaijani side, disrupted the negotiation process.
Ambassador Ismayilzade also said that Armenia’s criminal leadership aims to divert the attention of its population from internal problems and the coronavirus-related deplorable situation by further aggravating the situation on the front and committing military provocations.
Emphasizing that the fighting is currently taking place in the internationally recognized Azerbaijani territories, which are under Armenian occupation, the diplomat underlined the importance of implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolutions which demand an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the territories of Azerbaijan. He noted with regret that Armenia keeps ignoring these resolutions.
The diplomat stated that the ongoing conflict poses a major threat to regional security and development. “Azerbaijan is a leading country in the South Caucasus, and approximately 65 percent of the region’s economy is concentrated in Azerbaijan. Due to its non-constructive policy, Armenia is isolated from large-scale regional projects,” he added.
Ambassador Ismayilzade described the ongoing Armenian aggression as a threat to regional stability and security.