VIDEO: Azerbaijani President Continues to Issue Threats, Mirzoyan

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, delivered a speech at the 43rd session of the Ministerial Conference of Francophonie. In his speech, he stated:

“Mr. President, Madame Secretary-General of Francophonie, Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. President, I am very pleased to participate in this ministerial conference in your beautiful country and would like to thank you for your hospitality. I would also like to thank the Secretary-General of Francophonie for ensuring the proper functioning of our organization during this difficult period, for implementing important reforms, and for outlining initiatives expected in the coming years. Indeed, with the new strategic framework of Francophonie, priorities and aspirations are defined for Francophonie, to which we are fully committed.”

“Today we are gathered here in the context of a crisis of multilateralism, accompanied by a multiplication of conflicts. We observe that collective security mechanisms based on respect for the principles of the UN Charter, particularly the sovereign equality of states and the non-use of force against the territorial integrity of any state, can no longer guarantee the security of states from the aggressive policies of certain states.”

“One of the first victims of this is Armenia, which has faced aggression against its territorial integrity and sovereignty since last May, most recently on September 13-14 of this year, which has led to the well-known consequences: the occupation of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, hundreds of casualties and injuries, thousands of displaced persons, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.”

“Let us also not forget the gross violations of international humanitarian law, the horrific atrocities committed by Azerbaijani armed forces against Armenian prisoners of war, including female soldiers, which have shocked the world.”

“Tensions still persist today on our border with Azerbaijan, and despite the commitments made not to use force or threaten to use force, the President of Azerbaijan continues to issue threats against the population of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia and presents unfounded territorial demands.”

“In this regard, we welcome that many countries have recognized the fact of the violation of Armenia's territorial integrity and demanded the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. Armenia remains committed to the peaceful resolution of all issues related to the conflict, including ensuring the rights and security of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, and thanks the international partners who are making efforts to achieve this.”

“Mr. President, esteemed colleagues, Returning to the work of our conference, Armenia supports the documents presented to our approval related to the strategic framework of Francophonie, the declaration on the French language, and the regulations governing the accession process. We also express our agreement with the draft declaration of Jerba.”

“In this regard, we would like to congratulate the Tunisian presidency for keeping digitization at the forefront of our attention.”

“As for the draft resolution regarding the crisis situations in the Francophone sphere, we thank you for the paragraphs concerning Armenia. It is important that the member countries and governments of Francophonie express solidarity with Armenia by making our fundamental issues the ones conditioning the peaceful resolution of the conflict between the parties.”

“In closing my remarks, I would finally like to return to the request of the Albanian delegation regarding the reopening of discussions concerning the paragraphs relating to Armenia, to which the Armenian delegation does not agree for the following several reasons. The first and foremost is that these paragraphs are very balanced and are the result of compromises that Armenia has endeavored to achieve.”

“The second reason is that we must respect the work of the Documents Approval Committee, its president, and its members, who have held lengthy discussions to find acceptable solutions for all on various contentious issues. These paragraphs are also the culmination of that work.”

“I would add one further reason, which is the effectiveness of the work of this conference. We do not believe that the Albanian delegation can present, as was declared a moment ago, a draft of paragraphs that can find consensus within the framework of our conference. We consider it ineffective to restart discussions that can lead only to a deadlock. Consensus has already been achieved regarding the points concerning Armenia during the discussions of the Documents Approval Committee, and if the Albanian delegation has certain difficulties in confirming this, it can express reservations regarding these paragraphs, as some delegations have done regarding other aspects of the draft resolution.”

“Thank you for your attention.”