Foreign media
Assistant to Azerbaijan’s First Vice President interviewed by Swiss newspaper
Elchin Amirbayov, Assistant to the First Vice President of Azerbaijan, gave an interview to the Swiss newspaper La Liberte.
In his interview published on October 8, Amirbayov said that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan continues his provocations against Azerbaijan. He noted that Armenia keeps grossly violating international humanitarian law and committing war crimes by targeting the civilian population of Azerbaijan every day. He added that Pashinyan’s provocations aim to drag Russia into the conflict.
The newspaper, referring to Amirbayov, wrote that Azerbaijan does not receive Turkey's military aid and does not need it.
“Over the past 30 years, Russia, France, and the United States, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, have carried out mediation activities, but the conflict has not been resolved, and the co-chairing countries are responsible for this failure. Thus, the co-chairs’ failure to put pressure on Armenia paved the way for the latter’s impunity.
According to the assistant to the first vice president, the ceasefire in itself does not mean the resolution of the conflict, and the ceasefire cannot last long without the conflict settlement. “Azerbaijan insists that according to the relevant resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian military forces should be withdrawn from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. Azerbaijan considers Armenian residents of Karabakh as its citizens and is ready to ensure their safety.”
Amirbayov further stated that considering the complexity of the conflict, the said issues cannot be resolved within two days. “All this requires a certain time and step-by-step approach. In this regard, several proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group were rejected by Yerevan. Every time when certain progress is felt in the negotiations, Armenia gives up on substantive negotiations with a new excuse.”
He added that after N. Pashinyan's disruption of negotiations, his being a responsible negotiation partner raises questions and this factor is a serious obstacle. “Baku can return to negotiations, but we must be sure that Armenia must stop the occupation and withdraw its troops from our territories unconditionally.”