Armenian Foreign Ministry's Statement on the Agreement Signed by the Presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement regarding the agreement signed by the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

“The Armenian Foreign Ministry had already made a statement condemning the joint visit of the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan to the city of Shushi, currently under occupation, and characterized it as an obvious provocation against regional peace and security. The agreement signed by the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan in Shushi, as well as the statements made by the Turkish president in the Azerbaijani parliament, are equally condemnable and provocative.

Although the Turkish-Azerbaijani agreement mentions in a separate clause that the document is not directed against any third party, its entire content clearly targets the Armenian people. It clearly indicates a coalition formed by the two states that carried out the 44-day aggression against the Republic of Artsakh against the self-determination of the Artsakh people, the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, and the rights of the Armenian people worldwide who have survived genocide.

The expression ‘Zangezur Corridor’ included in the agreement suggests that Turkey and Azerbaijan are obtaining public arrangements against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, fortified by the impunity resulting from their joint aggression and mass crimes against the people of Artsakh. Equally concerning is the agreement between the two states to combat the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

The aforementioned arrangements entirely contradict the fundamental norms of international law. It is noteworthy that, according to the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, all international agreements that contradict the imperative norms of general international law are null and void and cannot have any international legitimacy.

It is remarkable that the basis of the stated agreement is not the UN Charter or the principles of collective and indivisible security of the OSCE, but rather their approach to ‘ethnic security,’ which is promoted as a principle of unification of the ‘Turkic world.’ In the context of such hatred, the proposals voiced by the Turkish president in the Azerbaijani parliament to create a platform for regional cooperation are hypocritical and misleading.

The public agreements between the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan contain not only genocidal threats against the Armenian people in the region but also pose serious challenges to all countries interested in international and regional peace and security, highlighting the necessity of close cooperation among all those countries involved.

The facts resulting from aggression and the use of force against the people of Artsakh cannot serve as a basis for lasting peace, just as the various fictitious initiatives of Turkey and Azerbaijan in Shushi cannot alienate this cultural center from Artsakh and the Armenian people.”