Foreign media
Elchin Amirbayov, Assistant to the First Vice President of Azerbaijan, gave an interview to La Tribune de Genève, a famous Swiss newspaper.
Portraying Armenia’s daily shelling of residential settlements in Azerbaijan as war crimes and a blatant violation of international, Amirbayov called on the international community to strongly condemn the Armenian aggression. He also urged the international community to take urgent measures to prevent further deaths of innocent Azerbaijani civilians.
According to the vice-presidential aide, having realized that it is in a deadlock on the battlefield, Armenia is striving to incite Azerbaijan to retaliate against the territory of Armenia in order to have a “consistent reason” for the involvement of third countries, especially Russia, in the conflict.
In his interview, Amirbayov informed that nearly 20 villages and a city of Azerbaijan have been liberated from the Armenian occupation until now.
Asked about Yerevan’s allegations on Turkey’s participation on the side of Azerbaijan in this conflict, Amirbayov resolutely rejected all this, stating that Turkey has never joined the hostilities.
It is emphasized in the interview that Armenia accuses its neighbor of committing "genocide against the Armenian population". Baku denies these allegations and recalls that 200,000 Azerbaijanis were forced to flee Armenia in the late 1980s. The Azerbaijani side condemns Armenia for carrying out "ethnic cleansing" in its country and in the occupied territories.
Baku also accuses the US, Russia and France, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair trio, of turning a blind eye to Armenian numerous provocations over the past 30 years and failing to achieve the punishment of the aggressor.
Amirbayov said: “A ceasefire is a good intention but it is not enough for the establishment of a solid peace, the ceasefire is aimed at achieving concrete results, more precisely, the complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as required by the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.”
“Baku is ready for the restoration of the peace process and we are grateful to the Swiss side for their offers to host some meetings, but first we need to know what we expect from these talks, what exactly is on the agenda, and what results await us,” he added.