December 2, 2022 - 14:37 AMT
Yerevan: Int’l presence on the ground important as never before

International presence on the ground in Armenia and the global community’s clear attitude towards aggression and aggressor state are as important as never before, Ararat Mirzoyan said in his remarks the 29th OSCE Ministerial Council was held in Łódź city, Poland on Thursday, December 1.

On September 13-14, Azerbaijan unleashed a new round of unprovoked aggression against Armenia, occupying around 140 square km of the sovereign territory of the country. It was the 3rd large-scale offensive against Armenia since the signing of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, which ended the war in nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). The aggression, which resulted in 233 of casualties including among civilians, targeted settlements and civilian infrastructure, internally displaced thousands of the citizens of Armenia and caused serious economic and environmental damage. The worst forms of war crimes with extrajudicial killings and torture of Armenian military personal including women and men alike have been an inherent feature of the Azerbaijani aggression.

“We would like to express our appreciation to those partners who do not shy away to point the aggressor and raise their voice on the need to duly prosecute the war crimes and punish the executors. It is equally important to demand the complete withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces from the sovereign territories of Armenia. Their continued presence in internationally recognized territories of Armenia is a serious challenge to fragile peace and stability in our region,” Mirzoyan said.

“Moreover, during the same year Azerbaijan continued its provocative and aggressive actions against Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in March and August this year. In blatant violation of Trilateral Statements, Azerbaijan in fact ethnically cleansed yet another settlement of NK and tried to impede the functioning of the Lachin corridor, which is the “way of life” for more than 120 thousand people.”

The diplomat expressed appreciation and further support to missions deployed by the EU and the OSCE to assess and monitor the situation on the ground.

“In the current circumstances when Azerbaijan is covering up its use of force against Armenia by initiating blame games, the international presence on the ground and clear attitude towards aggression and aggressor state are as important as never before,” he added.

Also Thursday, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov accuses OSCE of "abusing consensus". His comments came in response to the OSCE decided on October 19 to send a needs assessment team to Armenia after Azerbaijan invaded the country and occupied parts of the sovereign territory of Armenia.