Shushi is an Inseparable Part of Artsakh, Military Occupation Cannot Change This Status

In connection with the visit of the President of Azerbaijan to the occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh, a memorandum has been sent to international organizations by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh. This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh.

On February 25, the memorandum was sent to international organizations regarding the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to the occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh.

The document specifically states that, with the support of Turkey and various terrorist groups' mercenaries, the Azerbaijani authorities have moved toward the consolidation of the de facto results recorded through military means since the end of the 44-day war against Artsakh, which is a gross violation of international law norms.

According to the memorandum, among the instruments for implementing this policy are the visits of the Azerbaijani president to the occupied territories, the most notable of which is Aliyev's visit to Shushi, where he made numerous statements containing blatant threats and open hostility towards the Armenian people.

The memorandum also states that the provocative and inciting nature of these visits and the accompanying statements testify to Azerbaijan's intention to obstruct the resumption of the negotiation process for the comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict and to maintain the conflict in an unresolved state. "Azerbaijan's such destructive and audacious behavior deserves the most severe condemnation from the international community," the memorandum notes.

The document emphasizes that the people of Artsakh have exercised their right to self-determination and the formation of statehood in those territories. As stated in the document, this violation of fundamental rights is not only a human rights violation but also one of the main sources of serious threats to regional security.

The memorandum mentions that any legislative and administrative actions of the Republic of Azerbaijan aimed at changing the status of the territories of the Republic of Artsakh—including land and property expropriation, resettlement of the population in the occupied territories, and annexation of the occupied territories—are invalid under international law and cannot change the status of the territories of Artsakh. No territorial gains achieved through the use of force or the threat of force should be recognized as legal.

The document states that Azerbaijan's current military occupation of the territory of the Republic of Artsakh, including the city of Shushi, cannot change their status either. Shushi city is an inseparable part of Artsakh both territorially and in cultural, economic, and historical terms. Any attempt to forcibly detach it is a gross violation of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Artsakh.

The memorandum highlights that only a just resolution of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict, which eliminates its underlying cause—the failure of Azerbaijan to recognize the rights of the people of Artsakh—will address the consequences of Azerbaijan's illegal use of military force and allow the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes to prevail.