A military post along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border
In a telephone conversation with the European Council President Charles Michel, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan essentially said he will invade eight villages in Armenia, which he believes are being “occupied.”
During the phone call of Saturday, Aliyev told Michel that those eight villages “still are being occupied by Armenia” and emphasized the importance of their “liberation.” He has not specified, which villages he is referencing.
Aliyev also voiced his grievance with Michel regarding an announcement that was publicized following a meeting on Thursday in Granada, Spain between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Emmanuel Macron of France, German Chancellor Olaf Shulz and Michel.
Aliyev said that including Azerbaijan in the text of the statement from a meeting that did not include his participation was “wrong” and “anti-Azerbaijan,” stressing that his decision to not attend the meeting was because of Macron’s participation.
According to Azernews.az, Aliyev told Michel that France’s announcement to provide military support to Armenia would not benefit peace in the region and accused Paris of further aggravating the situation and create a new conflict in the region.
“If any new conflicts occur in the region, France would be responsible for causing it,” Aliyev told Michel.
Aliyev also complained about a resolution adopted by the European Parliament last week urging the EU to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan has fully restored its sovereignty by using the right of self-defense in accordance with international law and the UN Charter, and neutralized illegal military units existing in its territory. In this regard, the steps taken by Azerbaijan were in full accordance with international law,” Aliyev told Michel, referring to its large-scale attack last month on Artsakh, which displaced more than 100,000 Artsakh Armenians and depopulated the region.
In a post on the social platform know as X, Michel expressed EU’s commitment to theArmenia-Azerbaijan normalization process.
Michel said he “reiterated the need for mutual respect of territorial integrity & sovereignty, and for advancing on border delimitation and stressed also need to ensure Karabakh Armenians’ security & rights, also over the long term.”