Destructive position of Armenia drags it into abyss, Azerbaijan says
Unlike the leadership of Armenia, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is very well aware of what each document signed by him serves, not only at the current stage, but also in the long term, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.
"The head of state showcases this through his words and actions," said the ministry.
The ministry was commenting on a recent interview of Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan to local media.
“The Armenian FM must return from the fictional world to real one, no matter how difficult it may be. The long-standing destructive position of Armenia, contrary to international law, has dragged the country into the abyss,” said the ministry. “The Armenian government must draw conclusions from the recent events and admit the new realities in the region.”
According to the ministry, Azerbaijan ensured the implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and restored its territorial integrity.
"A new format of security and cooperation was established in the region by a joint statement signed also by the prime minister of Armenia on November 10,” the ministry said. “As for the exchange of prisoners, hostages and bodies of the servicemen killed during the hostilities, the Armenian FM should be reminded that namely the Armenian side ignored Azerbaijan's initiative to exchange ‘everyone for everyone’ during many years. Now the acceptance of this principle by Armenia is part of this changing reality.”
“Azerbaijan, on the contrary, has always strictly adhered to the principles of international humanitarian law, acting in accordance with the principles of humanism and unilaterally transferring Armenian prisoners and bodies of the killed servicemen to the other side even during the hostilities,” the ministry also noted.
“Instead of interpreting the joint statement of November 10 in its own way, the fulfillment of the issues arising from it by the Armenian side would serve to establish the long-awaited peace in the region," added the ministry.
Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from the long-lasting Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM and the president of Russia.