Pashinyan: Azerbaijan chronically violates trilateral agreements and prepares genocide of Artsakh Armenians

YEREVAN, November 10. /ARKA/. Violations of trilateral statements (made by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan) by Baku have become chronic, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a Thursday government meeting.

Pashinyan said Azerbaijan has occupied Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher communities in Artsakh in violation of the November 9, 2022 statement, Azerbaijani troops have also invaded in March 2022 of the village of Parukh, located in the zone of Russian peacekeeping contingent.

"Azerbaijan violates the ceasefire on the line of contact almost daily, claiming also that Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist. This allegation is a flagrant violation of the statement of November 9, 2020 signed by Azerbaijan itself, which mentions Nagorno-Karabakh 4 times," Pashinyan stressed.

He added that Azerbaijan hasn't taken a single step towards reaching a dialogue with Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

‘Azerbaijan is arguing that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are Azerbaijani citizens and their security is guaranteed, but it has done nothing for the safe return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to Hadrut and other territories they had to leave during the 44-day war in 2022," the Armenian Prime Minister said.

He added that Azerbaijan also prevents representatives of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and UNICEF from visiting Nagorno-Karabakh.

"These and other facts make it clear that Aliyev not only threatens but also prepares the genocide of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh," he said, adding that such a conclusion comes from Aliyev's comments on the mission of the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh.

He recalled that under the November 9, 2022 statement, Russian peacekeepers are stationed in Karabakh for a 5-year term with an automatic extension for a similar term.

"This essentially means that Russian peacekeepers are deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh indefinitely until all issues related to the rights of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are specified and all concerns about their security are dispelled," Pashinyan said.

According to the PM, the issue of withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh is not only a violation of trilateral agreements, but also a preparation for the genocide of Karabakh Armenians.

Pashinyan also touched on Azerbaijan's manipulative attempts to draw parallels between the Lachin corridor and plans to unblock all transport communications in the region.

"The Azerbaijani president is trying to create far-fetched excuses, accusing Armenia of failing to comply with the agreements, to close the Lachin corridor, encircle the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and carry out their genocide," Pashinyan said. --0--