Author: Bedik Zaminian

Diplomat: Azerbaijan`s threat of missile attack on the Armenian nuclear power plant is a gross violation of international humanitarian law

Bedik Zaminian
Arminfo, Armenia
Sept 19 2020

ArmInfo. The threat of a rocket attack by Azerbaijan at the Armenian nuclear power plant is a gross violation of international humanitarian law, the Ambassador  Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Italy  Tsovinar Hambardzumyan stated about this in the interview to the  Italian “La Verita” newspaper.

According to her, such threats best demonstrate the true face of this  state. “We consider this statement as a sign of state nuclear  terrorism. This statement poses a threat to all the peoples of the  region, including the people of Azerbaijan. One observation: for many  years, Azerbaijan has constantly raised the issue of the safety of a  nuclear power plant in various international organizations, noting  that it is in a seismic zone, allegedly outdated, and so on. And now  Azerbaijan is threatening to destroy it. We think that this clearly  shows that all the so-called fears of Azerbaijan are anti-Armenian,  “the diplomat said. She stated with regret that human life in  Azerbaijan is not a value, not to mention the life of the people of  Nagorno- Karabakh.

Speaking about the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the  Ambassador, first of all, thanked the Italian authorities, and  personally the Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Maio, for a  balanced approach to the settlement of the conflict. “I highly  appreciate the approach taken by the Italian side during the July  events. We expect that the Italian authorities will continue to show  a balanced, impartial approach and support the peace process within  the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co- chairmanship, “the  ambassador said.

Answering the question who was the first to start hostilities during  the July events, Tsovinar Hambardzumyan recalled Armenia’s proposals  to introduce mechanisms of investigations on the border of Armenia  and Azerbaijan and on the Line of Contact of the armed forces of  Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, which were rejected by official  Baku.

The current escalation of hostilities has highlighted the need for  enhanced security and confidence-building measures, such as  establishing direct communication between commanders and introducing  monitoring and investigation mechanisms. However, it is not Armenia  and Artsakh, but Azerbaijan that consistently opposes to the  introduction of these measures, “the Armenian diplomat noted.

She also pointed to the role of Turkey in exacerbating the situation.  According to Tsovinar Hambardzumyan, the role of Turkey, to put it  mildly, as always, is destructive. “Unfortunately, Turkey is becoming  more and more dangerous as it has become an exporter of instability  to various regions, be it the Mediterranean, Africa or the Asian  region. Turkey is currently trying to export this policy to the South  Caucasus. Their unconditional support for Azerbaijan and their  destructive role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is only part of  Turkey’s neo-Ottoman policy, “the Armenian diplomat said. 



Azerbaijani press: Deputy PM: Silence of Mediators’ limits Azerbaijan’s choice in ensuring its territorial integrity

Bedik Zaminian
POLITICS 18:58 (UTC+04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 15

By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:

The beginning of a new phase is observed in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Trend reports referring to the publication titled “Armenian provocations and the silence of the OSCE Minsk Group” made by Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Chairman and Executive Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Ali Ahmadov, posted on his official Facebook page.

“The steady expansion of the Armenian provocations gradually began to replace the relative stability that was preserved in the past,” Ahmadov added.

“The clashes in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district on the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia two months ago as a result of Armenia’s military provocations, the subsequent exposure in connection with the supply of weapons to this country, the arrest of the Armenian saboteur in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Goranboy district are just a shortlist of Armenian provocations in the conflict zone and connect with the conflict,” deputy prime minister said.

“The Armenian prime minister’s frequent visits to the occupied territories and statements that fundamentally contradict the spirit of the settlement process have become an integral part of other Armenian provocations,” Ahmadov said.

“The fact that the “appeals for peace” made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s wife in the first months of the Armenian prime minister’s rule recently replaced the photographs with the Kalashnikov assault rifle, testifies to the vile nature of the Armenian provocation,” deputy prime minister said.

Ahmadov stressed that the Armenian provocations are observed not only in the country’s aggravation of the militaristic rhetoric and behavior.

“The recent resettlement of the Armenians of Lebanese origin to the occupied Azerbaijani territories is nothing more than an unprecedented provocation, striking a crushing blow on the conflict settlement process,” deputy prime minister added.

“The whole world witnesses a process of gross violation of international law – the settlement of the occupied territories,” Ahmadov said. “The Armenian adventurism will lead to dangerous prospects, for example, to repeat in the 21st century the policy of resettlement, which once changed the demographic situation in the South Caucasus.”

“The history of the last 50-60 years of the Middle East is an instructive example of bitter consequences of such games,” deputy prime minister said. “The attempts of the Armenian politicians to turn the South Caucasus into a hotbed of constant conflicts and wars cannot be ignored. They must be condemned by international organizations and the world community as a whole.”

“Amid Armenia’s growing provocations, the silence of the OSCE Minsk Group, which took upon itself the mission of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, its transformation into an impartial observer, to put it mildly, cannot but cause surprise,” Ahmadov added.

“In any case, the OSCE Minsk Group cannot evade responsibility because the conflict has dragged on and it has failed to find the correct formula for the settlement,” deputy prime minister said. “Presently, the OSCE Minsk Group witnesses that the Armenian side continues to commit another crime, which can lead to new, even regretful consequences.”

“Azerbaijan stands for peaceful but just settlement of the conflict with the condition of withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from all occupied territories,” Ahmadov said. “With a few exceptions, the ceasefire which has been valid since 1994 testifies to this.”

“However, the fact that the conflict has not been resolved up till now, the growing Armenian provocations and the silence of the mediators limit the choice of Azerbaijan in ensuring its territorial integrity,” deputy prime minister said. “Azerbaijan must and will return its occupied lands.”

“If mediators and diplomats do not cope with their work, the heroic Azerbaijani army will fulfill its noble mission,” Ahmadov said. “The battles in April 2016 and July 2020 showed what our army is capable of. There is no doubt that our servicemen will lead to the triumph of justice.”

Azerbaijani press: Shamil Ayrim: Today, as 102 years ago, we’re next to Azerbaijan with same enthusiasm, faith

Bedik Zaminian
18:10 (UTC+04:00)
432

By Trend

On September 15, Baku marks the 102-nd anniversary from the day of its liberation, and on this occasion, I congratulate both the Azerbaijani and Turkish peoples, Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Head of the Turkey-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary friendship group Shamil Ayrim told Trend.

Ayrim noted that today is a significant day in the history of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

In 1918, 28-year-old Enver Pasha was appointed commander of the Caucasian Islamic Army created by the Ottoman State. First, on May 25, 1918, the Caucasian Islamic Army liberated Ganja, and then the 12,000-strong army, which was joined by 1,000 servicemen of the Azerbaijan Corps, liberated Baku from the occupation.

“In the battles for the liberation of Baku, 1,130 servicemen of the Caucasian Islamic Army were killed. Nuru Pasha was greeted in Baku with great enthusiasm, he turned to the people from the minaret of the Tazapir mosque, and since then this minaret remembered as the “Minaret of Nuru Pasha”. After the signing of the Mudros Treaty, the Caucasian Islamic Army was forced to leave Baku. Nuru Pasha recalled those days in this way – ‘No matter how much my heart ached after my brother Enver Pasha died, the occupation of Azerbaijan further wounded my soul. Turkism in Azerbaijan is eternal, and I am ready to give my life so that Azerbaijan doesn’t stay away from the Turks’,” said Ayrim.

“Azerbaijan, being an independent state, is confidently moving forward. Today, just like 102 years ago, when Baku was liberated from occupation, we are with Azerbaijan with the same enthusiasm and faith. Turkey is always next to Azerbaijan, just like Azerbaijan is next to Turkey. Amid the provocations by the Armenians in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district and the games against Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, the brotherhood of Azerbaijan and Turkey became even stronger. Long live Azerbaijan, long live Turkey!,” Ayrim noted.


Azerbaijani President Rebukes Putin Over Russian Military Cargo Deliveries to Armenia

Bedik Zaminian
Jamestown Foundation
Sept 11 2020

04:59 PM Age: 24 hours

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov (Source: mid.ru)

The Kremlin’s website reported, on August 12, that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had initiated a phone call to congratulate Vladimir Putin on the Russian vaccine against COVID-19 and to discuss bilateral issues. The next day, however, in a wholly unprecedented move, Aliyev’s press service sharply refuted the Russian version: “[T]he main purpose of the phone call was to clarify this issue” concerning “the intensity of delivery of military cargo from Russia to Armenia” since July 17, amidst the border clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The volume of the military cargo exceeded 400 tons and was transported via the airspaces of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. Neither government offered any indication as to what Putin’s response to Aliyev’s expressed concerns may have been (Kremlin.ru, August 12; President.az, August 13).

On August 25, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Baku, where he claimed that the flights had been airlifting “construction materials used in large-scale construction work carried out at the 102nd Russian military base in this country [Armenia],” as well as rotating military personnel. Shoigu’s response was met with derision in Azerbaijan (Mod.gov.az, August 25; Turan.az, August 27; Trend.az, August 29).

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointedly declared that the catalyst for the July escalation was “the Armenian side’s decision to reanimate an old border checkpoint located 15 kilometers from Azerbaijani [oil and natural gas] export pipelines,” thus essentially echoing Azerbaijan’s narrative that Armenia had provoked the clash. Nonetheless, for Baku, Shoigu’s and Lavrov’s statements represented another Russian attempt to appease Azerbaijan with words but without matching deeds. Indeed, the observed military deliveries to Armenia continued, exceeding 510 tons even after Baku raised its objections with Moscow (Mid.ru, August 21; Musavat.az, August 24).

Azerbaijani media outlets, parliamentarians, experts and state officials jumped on the bandwagon to denounce Russia’s behavior in relation to the Karabakh conflict in unusually explicit terms. Some expressed appreciation for Tbilisi’s refusal to allow for the transit, hence compelling Moscow to take a more circuitous, 2,000-kilometer-long route, rather than a more direct, 500-kilometer route flying over Georgian territory. But the countries that allowed the Russian overflights were largely ignored. The military aircraft also made trips between Yerevan and Kuwait/Syria. The Syrian flights sparked particular uproar in Baku, leading to claims they were being conducted to engage in illegal arms sales and the resettlement of Middle Eastern Armenians in Karabakh. Other Azerbaijani commentators, however, argued that the ethnic-Armenian refugees would not have been interested in relocation from one conflict zone to another. Therefore, some suggested that Syria’s and Lebanon’s Armenians were being transferred to join the Armenian Armed Forces as the country suffers from demographic decline and a related shortage of soldiers. This claim drew inspiration from Yerevan’s recent draft law to form a 100,000-strong voluntary army as well as the Armenian government’s actual policy to resettle Lebanese-based and other Armenians in the country (Aztv.az, Kommersant, Jam-news.net, September 1; Trend.az, September 2 EurasiaNet, September 3; Day.az, August 7; Baku.ws, Qafqazinfo.az, August 14; Tert.am, August 25).

In response, the popular Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta published an article titled “Syrian Fighters in Azerbaijan Prepare for Blitzkrieg Against Armenia,” full of allegations against Baku (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, September 1). Such mutual accusations symptomize the seriousness of the current tensions between Baku and Moscow, which also reverberated in exchanged remarks between the Azerbaijani and Russian foreign ministers in Moscow on August 26.

Namely, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov called on Russia to press Armenia to live up to its obligations under the United Nations Security Council resolutions and de-occupy Azerbaijani territories. But Lavrov deflected by asserting that the “immediate task” of those UN resolutions had been “to stop the war then.” He also stated that the Minsk Group co-chairs will not write a scenario for the conflict settlement but only facilitate a positive atmosphere for the negotiations, leaving it to Armenia and Azerbaijan to settle their differences on mutually agreed terms (Mid.ru, August 26). Russian expert Stanislav Tarasov termed Lavrov’s remarks a “diplomatic attack” against Baku. Though, Russian scholar Sergey Markedonov clarifies that the Kremlin is not interested in actively “push[ing] Baku” unless Azerbaijan chooses “Euro-Atlantic solidarity” or “escape from Russia” (Regnum, September 1; Carnegie.ru, July 21).

Several possible contributing factors explain the present diplomatic downturn along the Moscow-Baku axis. These factors are interrelated and not mutually exclusive. First and foremost, Turkey and Azerbaijan held massive military exercises in response to Russian-Armenian drills following the July clashes (see EDM, August 14). And those exercises were followed by pronouncements and rallies in Baku urging the Turkish military to create permanent bases in the country, worrying Moscow. Second, Russia’s arms sales to the South Caucasus’s largest importer, Azerbaijan, have decreased in recent years, in favor of purchases from Israel and Turkey. Ankara’s share is set to continue to rise due to the Russian-made equipment’s reported ineffectiveness, in Syria and Libya, against “game-changing” Turkish drones and electronic warfare technology. Third, Azerbaijan has overtaken Russia as the top gas supplier to the Turkish market (see EDM, July 6). This competition with Gazprom will soon be extended to Southeastern Europe with the looming inauguration of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, the final segment of the Southern Gas Corridor (see EDM, January 30, 2017 and July 22, 2020; Wilsoncenter.org, September 3; Pressklub.az, August 28; Sipri.org, March 9). Fourth, Baku is frustrated with Moscow’s de facto lack of neutrality regarding the Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan had, perhaps naively, expected a more even-handed Russian approach because of the perception that the Kremlin holds antipathy toward Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his Velvet Revolution. And fifth, recent Azerbaijani cabinet reshuffles dismissed the head of the presidential administration, Ramiz Mehdiyev, widely depicted as “the leader of pro-Russian forces” in Baku, along with other figures in his circle (see EDM, September 18, 2018 and December 11, 2019; Qafqazinfo.az, September 2; Science.gov.az, August 25).

Moscow is well aware that the newly appointed Azerbaijani minister of foreign affairs and presidential aide on foreign policy were tasked by Aliyev with more forcefully communicating the country’s positions (APA, July 15; TASS, August 25; Kommersant, August 27). And as such, the Russian side considers these top Azerbaijani diplomats to be acting more as high-level messengers than foreign policy chiefs in their own right. It remains to be seen whether Baku’s hardened rhetoric vis-à-vis the Kremlin foreshadows a qualitative change in Azerbaijani foreign policy or if it epitomizes another episodic, reactive and tactical shift in its dealings with Moscow. For now, the latter scenario looks more likely, if for no other reason than that the former would require the adoption of an entirely new long-term strategy.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 24-08-20

Bedik Zaminian

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 17:45, 24 August, 2020

YEREVAN, 24 AUGUST, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 24 August, USD exchange rate up by 0.20 drams to 485.25 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.26 drams to 574.20 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 6.54 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.68 drams to 636.94 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 31.29 drams to 30022.07 drams. Silver price down by 0.84 drams to 418.89 drams. Platinum price down by 243.73 drams to 14041.03 drams.

In historic move, Armenia to build entirely new village

Bedik Zaminian

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 12:13, 27 August, 2020

YEREVAN, AUGUST 27, ARMENPRESS. The Cabinet approved the action plan on building a new village for the reconstruction of the unfinished Kaps Reservoir in Shirak Province. The village will be provided for the resettlement of residents whose homes are situated in areas which will be part of the reservoir.

The Kaps Reservoir is located in the Akhuryan flood-plain 22km north of the city of Gyumri. The first phase of construction involves building the reservoir with a capacity of 25,000,000 cubic meters, with possibility of further expansion up to 60,000,000 cubic meters.

“This will be the first time in the history of the Third Republic of Armenia when we are building a new village from scratch,” PM Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that the initiative is also significant in terms of specifying perceptions regarding a modern-day Armenian village.

The reservoir’s territory will comprise parts of the Aregnadem, Gtashen, Byurakn, Kaps and Jradzor villages.

Reporting by Norayr Shoghikyan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Azerbaijan Upset As Russia Deliveres S-300 Missile Defence Systems To Armenia – Reports

Bedik Zaminian
Eurasian Times
Aug 16 2020

 August 16, 2020

by Tim Edwards                    

        

As the tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia soured after the intense border clash, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had reportedly expressed apprehension to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Moscow’s arms sales to Armenia.

Aliyev and Putin spoke by phone and the Azerbaijan leader up expressed anxiety over enormous arms shipments from Russia to Armenia, which the Azerbaijani president said: “raises concerns and serious questions in the Azerbaijani society.”

“The main goal of the conversation was to clarify this question,” Aliyev’s press service said in an August 13 release.

Aliyev was commenting to reports the week before in Azerbaijani media that several tons of weapons were dispatched from Russia to Armenia between July 17 and August 4. (Aliyev told Putin it was 400 tons, though other reports said it was 280 tons.)

The flights, using an IL76 military cargo plane, reportedly took a roundabout route from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to Armenia, avoiding the direct route – over Georgia.

Russian arms for Armenia are not unusual: The two countries are allies via the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Russia has long provided Armenia with weapons. But Azerbaijanis protested to the scale and timing of these consignments.

Aliyev’s message to Putin was a slightly different one; he said that “the main purpose of Armenia’s military attack was to draw third countries into the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,” though he didn’t elaborate which third countries he was referring to.

According to the Russian publication, Avia.Pro, Azerbaijan is more concerned because of the arms shipment included the latest weapons like air defense, electronic warfare systems, short, medium, and long-range radars, electronic suppression systems, artillery weapons, and S-300 air defense system.





Green activists hold a protest against the development of Amulsar

Bedik Zaminian
Arminfo, Armenia
Aug 20 2020

ArmInfo.. On August 20 in the evening, a protest action of green activists started in front of the RA Government against the development of the Amulsar mine. Earlier, protesters marched along the central streets of Yerevan; residents of  the city of Jermuk, who moved towards the capital this afternoon,  also joined them.

The main demand of the protesters is to invalidate the draft EIA  (environmental impact assessment). For over two years now, Jermuk  residents have been closing the approaches to the mine, since the  development of the mine can have an extremely negative effect on the  ecology of Jermuk, which was granted the status of a health resort  city during the Soviet era. In addition, with the positive conclusion  of the EIA, numerous risks were not taken into account, including for  the Kechut reservoir and the Sevan basin.

Ecologist Levon Galstyan emphasized that the fight against the  development of Amulsar has been ongoing since 2012. Earlier, the  Armenian government promised to reconsider its position on Amulsar if  the fears of environmentalists are confirmed by the results of an  international study. By order of the Government of the Republic of  Armenia, the corresponding study was carried out in 2019 by Elard,  which then noted in its conclusion that it is impossible to clearly  answer the question regarding the safe development of the Amulsar  mine with the available documentation. “All the problems raised  earlier by ecologists were confirmed by the study of Elard,” Galstyan  said.

The protesters had posters with the following requirements: ” As long  as we exist, there are no mines,”, “Close the mines – save lives”.  Jermuk residents demand a final solution to the problem, noting that  their actions have no political overtones, but their desire is not to  allow the city-resort to turn into a city mine.  They also note that  they will continue their actions to protect Amulsar, including by  blocking the roads leading to the mine by cars. Arman Khachatryan, a  participant in the road trip, also said that the security  organization of Lydian Armenia today tried to use violence against  the citizens who blocked the road to the mine.

The total cost of the Amulsar project is $ 370 million. The life of  the deposit is 10 years and 4 months, with an average annual  production of 200 thousand ounces of gold planned. To note, Lydian  Armenia is a subsidiary of the British offshore Lydian International.  Environmentalists and ordinary citizens are concerned that the  development of the mine may lead to the pollution of the mineral  underground waters of Jermuk and Lake Sevan. In addition to the water  basin, the public is also concerned about the possible presence of  uranium manifestations at the deposit. Environmentalists and  activists demand that the positive conclusion on the EIA project be  invalidated, since it was adopted with legislative violations, and  the document itself contains problems and shortcomings. Earlier, the  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced the  completion of its participation in the project for the development of  the Amulsar mine.



Turkish press: Legal battle resumes over massive inheritance of Turkey’s ‘brothel queen’

Bedik Zaminian
 ISTANBUL TURKEY 
AUG 10, 2020 3:01 PM GMT+3
Kerope Çilingir (R) attends Matild Manukyan’s funeral in Istanbul, Turkey, Feb. 22, 2001. (Photo by Recai Kömür)

Matild Manukyan was one of Turkey’s top taxpayers when she died in 2001, at the age of 84. She was a real estate investor but was better known for the brothels she owned that earned her the nickname “brothel queen.” Her massive wealth has sparked legal action by many seeking to claim a share, but her only heir was her son Kerope Çilingir. When Çilingir died last week, the fight for inheritance spanning from Istanbul to Erzurum was reignited.

Çilingir was already entangled in a lawsuit against him by his own family and members of a clan in Muş, an eastern province where Manukyan’s parents lived for a while before emigrating to France. The plaintiffs claim Çilingir is not the biological son of Manukyan and that she herself unlawfully grabbed the inheritance of her aunt, Susan Chah Muradyan. An Istanbul court last year ordered the temporary seizure of Manukyan’s assets.

Manukyan, who was born to an Armenian family, worked as a tailor in her youth before inheriting a massive fortune from her father, including brothels in Karaköy, the red-light district of Istanbul. Her investment skills helped her amass a larger fortune, and from brothels, she branched her investments into other areas, from business plazas to hotels. In her last decade, Manukyan won the title of the top taxpayer in Istanbul for five consecutive years, and her life story had dominated the headlines for a long time. Among the assets she owned at the time of her death were six five-star hotels in three cities and in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), two factories in Istanbul, two manors on Istanbul’s Princes’ Islands, 500 apartments and 70 business centers in Istanbul, hundreds of apartments and land plots in the northwestern province of Yalova, tens of buildings and plots in the provinces of Muğla, Kocaeli, Erzurum and Adana, 220 taxis and 150 million euros ($176 million) in a French bank account.

As Çilingir was fighting his legal woes, his daughter Dora filed another lawsuit and claimed he was mentally unstable. The daughter had called for the annulment of his marriage to Neslihan Çilingir in 2019.

Oktay Köse, a lawyer for plaintiffs, said Çilingir’s death did not change much in the lawsuit. “Defendants will now be his daughter and wife,” Köse told Hürriyet. Plaintiffs claim the real heirs of Manukyan are the heirs of Gülnaz Bağçıvan, the daughter of Manukyan’s aunt.

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry shows satellite images of new illegal settlement in occupied Kalbajar (PHOTOS)

Bedik Zaminian
NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT 14:40 (UTC+04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.15

Trend:

Armenia continues its illegal activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, including the policy of illegal settlement, Trend reports on August 15 referring to the joint statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and Azerspace OJSC.

According to the statement, as a result of monitoring carried out by means of the Azersky satellite of Azercosmos company, the fact of illegal settlement in the occupied Kalbajar district of Azerbaijan was revealed.

The settlement, construction of which began in the late 2019, currently consists of 15 houses. The speed and construction progress give grounds to say that the settlement will expand. So, back in January 2020, 6 houses were here, in March – 10, and in April – 14 houses.

“Within the framework of Armenian policy of artificial settlement in the occupied territories, illegal construction activities have been carried out in recent years, including construction of the “Arajamukh” residential complex in Jabrayil, “Ariavan” in Lachin, houses in residential settlements in Zangilan and in the village of Khanlig, Gubadli district,” the statement reads.

As the statement notes, the received satellite images show that the Armenia continues the illegal settlement on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which is contrary to international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, as well as human right norms.

According to the statement, this illegal activity is aimed at prolonging and consolidating the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh [region] and the adjacent districts of Azerbaijan, is aimed at the annexation of these territories and is aimed at the prevention of the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to their native lands.

Armenia, carrying out illegal activities in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts of Azerbaijan in violation of both international law and the legislation of Azerbaijan, as well as Armenian individuals and legal entities, other persons and companies involved in illegal activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, bear administrative and legal responsibility, the statement further points out.

The right of the Azerbaijani residents of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts of Azerbaijan to return to their homes will be ensured, and the aggressor-Armenia will be held accountable for all its illegal actions, the statement says.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.