Official Baku Has Stepped Out of Its Comfort Zone, Says Artsakh Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh has released a statement regarding Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's speech at the United Nations on September 21.

“On September 21, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev delivered a speech at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, presenting once again baseless assertions from the Azerbaijani side concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which have been disproven many times in the past. It is noteworthy that Aliyev's speech at the UN was preceded by a similar emotionally charged interview on September 19 during an event at the ‘Absheron’ oil field,” the statement reads.

“The statements made by the Azerbaijani President regarding the resolution process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict demonstrate the level of confusion among Azerbaijani authorities, especially given that Baku's long-standing strategy based on blackmail and threats has proven to be bankrupt and has completely exhausted itself. The long-standing practice of Azerbaijani authorities to misrepresent the essence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, to obstruct the resumption of full-format negotiations, to justify territorial claims against the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia by biased interpretations of international law, and to reserve the right to unleash new aggression, has brought the resolution process to its current state, which, however, has not provided any additional political dividends for official Baku,” the Foreign Ministry added.

“Likewise, the policies declared by the Azerbaijani President aimed at isolating Armenia and Artsakh, and hindering the economic growth of the two Armenian states, as well as attempts to leverage religious themes within the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, have proven ineffective. It is evident that, having been deprived of its main tool—achieving unilateral concessions through threats and coercive pressure—official Baku has found itself outside its comfort zone and is attempting to return to the familiar situation, intensifying its warlike rhetoric directed not only against both Armenian sides but also against the entire resolution process.”

“If the Azerbaijani authorities are truly interested in establishing lasting peace in the region, they must abandon their policies of military blackmail and threats, recognize the fact of the right to self-determination exercised by the people of Artsakh, and come to the negotiating table to find solutions to the problems resulting from the armed conflict they initiated,” the statement concludes.