Azerbaijan's Ethnic Cleansing Policy May Evolve into a Broader Crime: Artsakh Foreign Ministry

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh has issued a statement regarding the escalation of aggressive and militaristic rhetoric from Azerbaijan. The statement highlights that in recent times, Azerbaijan's state structures and government-controlled media have launched a widespread disinformation campaign aimed at misleading the international community and creating a pretext for new aggression against the Republic of Artsakh and its people.

By fabricating and promoting false narratives about the Artsakh Defense Army, Azerbaijan effectively denies the inalienable right of the Artsakh people to self-defense and seeks to deprive them of all means and opportunities to ensure their own security, especially in the context of constant threats and military provocations from Baku against the civilian population of Artsakh.

Despite the Russian peacekeeping forces never recording violations of the ceasefire from the Artsakh side, official Baku continues to make false accusations regarding shelling by the Artsakh Defense Army while simultaneously intensifying its aggressive and militaristic rhetoric, thereby preparing the information and propaganda ground for a new aggression against the Republic of Artsakh.

This is further evidenced by the fact that the authorities of Azerbaijan persistently reject proposals to send an international investigative mission to Artsakh, including through the Lachin corridor, which could assess the situation on the ground and present an objective picture of reality to the international community.

Such evident geopolitical blackmail against Artsakh, including continuous violations of the ceasefire regime, incitement and propaganda of racial hatred and discrimination, destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, an entire blockade of transportation and energy routes, and the illegal establishment of an Azerbaijani checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, are unacceptable and represent gross violations of the commitments undertaken by Azerbaijan under the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, as well as a flagrant breach of the International Court of Justice’s ruling on February 22, 2023.

It is evident that Azerbaijan's aggressive and destabilizing actions are also aimed at preventing conditions for the resumption of a peaceful process for conflict resolution and constructive dialogue based on equality and good faith between the parties.

Inspired by complete impunity and lawlessness, the Azerbaijani authorities disregard any calls and statements from the international community regarding the inadmissibility of destructive actions and the need to resolve all disputed issues through constructive dialogue.

In this regard, it is unacceptable that the international community and, in particular, the Russian Federation, whose peacekeeping forces are stationed in Artsakh and under whose security guarantees tens of thousands of Artsakh residents returned to their homeland after the 2020 war, leave Azerbaijan's threats without proper attention and response.

In this context, we reiterate that responsible members of the international community and, in particular, all actors involved in the peace process should not ignore, let alone encourage with any statements, Azerbaijan’s violations of its international obligations and the ethnic cleansing policy carried out against the Artsakh people, which may evolve into a broader crime.

We are convinced that only a proper and unequivocal political assessment of Azerbaijan's actions, along with the implementation of clear and effective measures by the international community to prevent Azerbaijan's internationally unlawful actions, will create conditions for ensuring the rights and security of the Artsakh people and establishing peace and stability in the region.