Arias Ayvazyan's Letter to UN Secretary-General: 'Azerbaijan is Actually Refusing to Fulfill Its Commitment'

On January 12, Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, providing a comprehensive account of the situation created around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict following Azerbaijan's large-scale military attack on September 27, 2020.

The minister stated in his letter that in the context of an unprecedented global health crisis, the breach of decades-long ceasefire has led to a significant loss of human lives, extensive ethnic cleansing of the native population of Artsakh, deliberate destruction, and vandalism of Armenian religious and cultural monuments.

In the correspondence, the Armenian Foreign Minister addressed instances of Azerbaijan's violations of the provisions of the trilateral statement of November 9, noting that more than a month after the establishment of a ceasefire, Azerbaijan carried out military operations towards two villages in the Hadrut region of Artsakh, specifically Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd.

It was noted that during the military attack, Azerbaijan's armed forces captured 64 Armenian servicemen, violating Azerbaijan's obligations under the trilateral declaration concerning the maintenance of the ceasefire.

The letter particularly highlighted Azerbaijan's incomplete implementation of Article 8 of the trilateral statement, which provides for the “exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons and the bodies of the dead.” It was emphasized that Azerbaijan is effectively refusing to fulfill this commitment, which constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.

Minister Ayvazyan also drew the attention of the UN Secretary-General to Azerbaijan's reluctance to cooperate with international organizations in the field of cultural heritage preservation. “Long-lasting and sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved through a comprehensive resolution of the conflict, which will include the status of Nagorno-Karabakh based on the realization of the rights of the people of Artsakh to self-determination,” concluded the Armenian Foreign Minister.