Artsakh MFA: Azerbaijan tries to shift his own blame for the lack of  results in the negotiation process on OSCE MG representatives

ArmInfo. Artsakh MfA reacted to the statement made  by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on July 6, As the press service  of Artsakh Foreign Ministry reports, the statement reads as follows:

"On July 6, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to  local TV channels, the tone and vocabulary of which, in parts  regarding the settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict, go  beyond the elementary diplomatic ethics. Through peremptory  accusations against the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen of their  inaction, the President of Azerbaijan tries to shift his own blame on  them for the lack of results in the negotiation process. By hindering  the restoration of the full-format trilateral negotiations, regularly  challenging the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes and  threatening by the use of force, trying to distort the essence of the  conflict, encouraging racist and anti-human views and behavior  patterns in their country, Azerbaijani authorities deliberately  create additional obstacles in the process of peaceful settlement of  the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict. And the aforementioned interview  serves as another vivid confirmation of this.

In this regard, the attitude of Azerbaijan towards the restoration of  the full-format trilateral negotiations is indicative. At various  stages of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict settlement, the  negotiations were conducted in various formats. However, the most  effective negotiations were the ones with the direct participation of  Artsakh in them: both on the Artsakh-Azerbaijan bilateral and the  Artsakh-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral basis. It was in the trilateral  format with the full participation of Artsakh that the most  significant result in the process of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict  settlement was achieved - the conclusion of the termless agreement on  the cessation of fire and hostilities in May 1994. Therefore, trying  to postpone the restoration of the trilateral negotiations,  Azerbaijan artificially delays the process of peaceful settlement of  the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict.

Both the historical and legal arguments cited in the interview do not  withstand any criticism.  However, while the Azerbaijani President's  ignorance of the history of the region makes just a harmless  background, his misconceptions of international law can pose a  serious threat to peace and security in the South Caucasus.

In the context of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict settlement,  Azerbaijan's reference to Article 51 of the UN Charter is completely  groundless and is an unsuccessful attempt to mask its aggressive and  militaristic policy. Firstly, Azerbaijan was not subjected to  aggression for the Article 51 of the UN Charter to apply. On the  contrary, it was precisely Azerbaijan that transformed the political  problem into an armed conflict by its own actions, trying to suppress  the right of the people of Artsakh to self- determination by force,  and after gaining independence unleashed a full-scale war against the  Republic of Artsakh. Secondly, in May 1994, Artsakh, Azerbaijan and  Armenia signed a trilateral ceasefire agreement, thereby putting an  end to the military phase of the conflict and committing themselves  to the peaceful settlement, in accordance with the UN Charter. In  this regard, we consider it necessary to remind the Azerbaijani side  that the resolution of international disputes by exclusively peaceful  means is one of the fundamental principles of international law  enshrined in the UN Charter.

All the speculations of Baku that Article 51 of the UN Charter gives  it the right to use force in the context of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh  conflict were rejected by the international community in April 2016,  when Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack on Artsakh. The OSCE  Minsk Group co-chairing states - the United States, Russia, and  France, as well as the United Nations Secretary General, the OSCE  Chairperson-in-Office and the Council of Europe Secretary General  were unanimous on the need to strictly comply with the 1994 agreement  on ceasefire and the 1995 agreement on it strengthening. Against the  background of the consolidated position of the international  community on the need for an exclusively peaceful settlement of the  Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict, the threats to launch a new war cannot  be regarded otherwise than an attempt by Azerbaijan to put itself out  of the international community and international law.

Instead of senseless and unpromising accusations of others for its  own mistakes and miscalculations, Azerbaijan should strictly observe  its commitments to a peaceful settlement of the conflict and conduct  full-format negotiations in good faith.