Azerbaijan issues statement on Karabakh conflict in response to La Francophonie resolution
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict, expressing hope that after the snap parliamentary elections in Armenia the new government ‘will realize the necessity of withdrawing its troops from occupied Azerbaijani lands’.
“We hope that after the elections in Armenia the new government of the country will recognize that there is no other way for sustainable development of Armenia, but the withdrawal of its troops from occupied Azerbaijani territories," the ministry said in a statement according to local media.
The statement is a response to the resolution adopted at the 17th Summit of La Francophonie in Yerevan which features a paragraph about the Karabakh conflict.
“Armenia should put an end to its unsuccessful attempts to mislead the international community and fulfil its commitments, especially withdrawing its armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, under the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the Helsinki Final Act,” reads the statement.
The part of the Francophonie resolution on crisis situations, handling crisis and peace consolidation in the Francophone area regarding the Karabakh conflict reaffirms full support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs for an exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict, reminding ‘long-lasting peace requires genuine involvement of all parties in the process based on the co-chairs’ proposals.’
It calls on all the parties to the conflict to ease tensions, respect the ceasefire regime and avoid statements causing tensions to promote a climate conducive to peace and implement previous agreements.
The resolution also calls for resuming the process of negotiations aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict based on the fundamental principles of the Helsinki Final Act, including the non-use of force or threat, territorial integrity, equal rights and right to self-determination of peoples.