Baku, Azerbaijan, March 21. We condemn the
unfounded allegations made by Ararat Mirzoyan, Foreign Minister of
Armenia at the press conference with Brazilian Foreign Minister
Mauro Vieira on 20 March 2025, Azerbaijani MFA said in a statement
in response to baseless claims made by Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan
at a press conference with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira,
Trend reports.
”Unfortunately, instead of working to eliminate the challenges
that stand in the way of signing the peace treaty, the Armenian
side is engaged in manipulations by labeling Azerbaijan as a
country that is not interested in peace.
It should be reminded that it was Armenia but not Azerbaijan
that launched an aggression against its neighbor, ethnically
cleansed all the Azerbaijanis both from Armenia and the territories
it has occupied for almost 30 years, committed massacres, and
erased cities and towns to the ground. Azerbaijan has never pursued
a policy of aggression against Armenia and has never been
interested in such a situation that turned the region into a zone
of confrontation.
Even the Armenian Foreign Minister’s comments that Armenia by
agreeing to the most recent edition of the draft peace treaty,
paved the way for finalization of the draft text negotiations
demonstrates how this country has impeded the process by bringing
unacceptable propositions into the text for the last two and a half
years of negotiations. It was due to Azerbaijan’s diplomacy and
measures that enabled us to conclude the negotiations on the
text.
But this by no means should be understood that we are going to
disregard the continuing claims of Armenia against the territorial
integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan as enshrined it the
constitution of Armenia, as well as Armenia’s actions that try to
preserve the remnants of the conflict such as the Minsk Group and
related OSCE institutions.
We once again reiterate that the treaty will be ready for
signature when Armenia will eliminate the remaining challenges.
When the Armenian Foreign Minister and other officials state
that Azerbaijan has not provided a positive response to so-called
proposals on communication and “arms control mechanisms,” it seems
that the Armenian side either do not follow the related comments by
the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan or they suffer from dishonesty
and a desire for attention, validation, or to manipulate
others.
When it comes to calls to release the detainees of Armenian
origin who have been charged or convicted of war crimes, ethnic
cleansing, military aggression, torture, and other serious
offenses, we emphasize that it is Azerbaijan’s inalienable right
and obligation to investigate and prosecute the offenses under the
Geneva Conventions and generally under international and domestic
law.
If Armenia is really interested in addressing the unresolved
humanitarian issues they must ensure the rights of dispelled
Azerbaijanis from Armenia to return to their homes in safety and
dignity, inform us of the whereabouts of around 4,000 missing
Azerbaijanis, and cooperate in the provision of maps of landmines
they massively placed in the territories of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan will continue its peace efforts in all directions,
and will resolutely prevent any steps against this process,” the
statement reads.