David Babayan Speaks on Ambassadors' Visit to Shushi

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh, David Babayan, stated that the visit of ambassadors accredited in Azerbaijan to Shushi is a gross violation of international humanitarian law and morality, a reprehensible manifestation. In an interview with Tert.am, he noted that such visits are condemned by them.

“Such visits are equivalent to legitimizing Azerbaijan's genocidal policies, legitimizing the Azerbaijan-Turkey-terrorist coalition. Among them were countries that have positioned themselves as advocates of democracy. That visit erases all of that, it is a terrible blow to their reputation. I don’t know whether they went under the influence of caviar or manat, it doesn’t matter, by this step they have violated humanitarian law, damaged their country's reputation, and legitimized terrorism and genocidal policies,” he said.

It should be noted that days ago, over 100 representatives of diplomatic corps and international organizations accredited in Azerbaijan visited the occupied territories of Artsakh, including Shushi and Varanda (Fuzuli). The visit was organized by the Azerbaijani authorities, and the diplomats were accompanied by the Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev.

Additionally, ambassadors from Turkey, Pakistan, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Israel, China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Belarus, Ukraine, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Algeria and other countries participated in the trip, along with representatives from the World Health Organization and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The ambassadors of the USA, France, and Russia in Azerbaijan refused the official invitation from Baku to visit Shushi.

David Babayan highly appreciated that the ambassadors of the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group did not visit Shushi and did not participate in this “farce” and “show.” “I was horrified, but we should not be frightened, rather, we should simply know who is who,” he said.

Babayan considered it secondary in this situation that previously, when Azerbaijan had not yet occupied Shushi, ambassadors from other countries accredited in Armenia did not visit the Armenian city. “What matters is why they visited now, knowing all this. That’s not good, they might as well have visited the execution of Armenian prisoners of war. Is that not the case? How does their participation in all this differ?” he remarked.

Babayan expressed his discontent that representatives from international organizations also visited Shushi, emphasizing again that they condemn this. “This is a reprehensible violation of international humanitarian law and morality,” he stated.

In response to the comment that Armenia should not have reacted and condemned, and taken action against this, Babayan replied that he did not wish to engage in that discourse. “That should be asked of the relevant authorities,” he said.

Regarding the current attitude of the international community towards the Nagorno-Karabakh issue after the war, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh, a number of countries have openly supported Azerbaijan, some have been indifferent, and some have supported Artsakh, sharing its pain. “That has always been the case,” he said.

“This situation is something that should open our eyes. The Azerbaijanis are still working well. They are organized and have great experience in geopolitical struggles. We should learn something from them. But that does not mean we should resemble them. We should conduct our policy based on our national interests. Let no one dare to express their dissatisfaction regarding that,” he added.

Referring again to the refusal of the ambassadors of the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group to visit, and the fact that the Azerbaijani side described it as a “demarche” and declared that “the Minsk Group is finally dead,” Babayan noted that nevertheless, the countries of the format remain steadfast in their positions, declaring that negotiations should continue. “We also believe that this is the most suitable format,” he said.