Azerbaijan Refuses to Abandon Its Destructive Policies, Says Artsakh Foreign Ministry

The situation created as a result of provocations by the Azerbaijani side on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border has prompted the Artsakh Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to release a statement in response to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s comments made on March 11. The statement particularly emphasized that the official Baku is attempting to justify the provocations carried out by Azerbaijani armed forces on March 6 and 10 by claiming that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unresolved. This constitutes yet another example of the Azerbaijani authorities’ irresponsible policies regarding their commitments to maintain regional peace and security.

This similar stance from Baku once again demonstrates that the provocations were deliberate, aimed at expanding the zone of instability. Furthermore, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's remarks contain accusations that deliberately distort the causal linkages of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The conflict arose from Azerbaijan's attempts to suppress the peaceful aspirations of the people of Artsakh to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination through the use of force.

Initially, aiming to terrorize the citizens of Artsakh, the Azerbaijani authorities planned and executed massacres, ethnic cleansing, and deportations against the Armenian population in Sumgait, Baku, Mingachevir, and other cities in Azerbaijan, as well as in northern Artsakh.

Having failed to break the will of the Armenians of Artsakh, the Azerbaijani authorities unleashed a total war aimed at destroying the Republic of Artsakh and its population. Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the consequences of this war, as it was the initiator of military operations and their consequent escalation.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which began with massive violations of the rights of the people of Artsakh, continues to this day precisely because Azerbaijan refuses to abandon its destructive policies, which are the main source of threats to regional peace and security. A withdrawal from its illusions of restoring its