Armenian Foreign Ministry Responds to Aliyev

The spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry has responded to inquiries from the media regarding statements made by Azerbaijani President I. Aliyev during a speech in Jabrayil, where he once again referred to Armenia's procurement of military equipment and issued threats. Notably, such aggressive and threatening statements have become more frequent from Azerbaijan recently.

Question: How do you comment on these statements?

Response: Official Yerevan has repeatedly stated at the highest levels that it harbors no aggressive intentions against any neighbor, recognizes their territorial integrity, and has no territorial claims. It is important to emphasize that the recent decision of the Constitutional Court of Armenia confirmed the compliance of the regulations of the joint activities of the delimitation commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the Constitution of Armenia and refuted all claims that the Armenian Constitution contains territorial demands against any of its neighbors.

The Republic of Armenia has also stated that despite certain territories being occupied, it does not have an agenda to return those territories through military means, because the aforementioned regulations provide all possible means to address and resolve these issues peacefully through negotiations.

Regarding armaments, the UN Charter reserves the right of self-defense for each state. Furthermore, international law obligates each state to protect its citizens. Armenia acquires weapons and technology solely for the purpose of exercising its right to self-defense and fulfilling its obligation to protect its citizens. In contrast, the volumes of offensive armaments that Azerbaijan has acquired are many times greater, as frequently declared by the Azerbaijani president.

Given this context, a question arises: Why does Azerbaijan emphasize the points mentioned in your inquiry? Is it preparing aggression against the Republic of Armenia? I believe it is important to seek an answer to this question as it could help assess perspectives suggesting that Azerbaijan intends to use the upcoming COP-29 conference in Baku as a cover for launching new military aggression against the Republic of Armenia and distributing the political responsibility for this among foreign leaders attending the conference.

Recent statements from official Baku raise at least a couple of important additional questions: a) Is Azerbaijan renouncing the commitments made to recognize the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia based on the Alma-Ata Declaration? I want to reiterate that the Republic of Armenia reaffirms its commitment to the Alma-Ata Declaration, meaning recognition of each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty based on the administrative borders of the Soviet republics.

b) Is Azerbaijan abandoning the Peace Agenda? I state that the Republic of Armenia reaffirms its commitment to the Peace Agenda and its readiness to sign the already agreed content of the peace agreement with Azerbaijan, as the Prime Minister of Armenia mentioned in his speech at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. We believe that instead of aggressive rhetoric, we should focus on urgently resolving the issue of signing a peace agreement and negotiating other matters in conditions of peace, both de facto and de jure.