Azerbaijan calls Armenia’s continued claims 'a serious violation’ of Prague, Sochi agreements

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Azerbaijan said Thursday that Armenia’s continued claims against its territorial integrity and sovereignty are a “serious violation” of the Prague and Sochi agreements of October 2022.

“Armenia's continued claims against Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty and its failure to withdraw its forces from these territories is a clear example of a serious violation of the Prague and Sochi agreements and Armenia's lack of interest in the peace process,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s comments in a speech to his country’s parliament earlier in the day, where he blamed Azerbaijan for the latest “provocation” in Lachin and accused Baku of violating its commitments under the framework of the Prague and Sochi meetings, were “completely groundless and unacceptable.”

It said Pashinyan’s idea of using the 1991 border line as “a basis for delimitation” in reference to a statement by the European Union on Wednesday contained a number of “biased points,” noting that the villages of Karki and Baghanis Ayrum were occupied by Yerevan in 1990 as a result of its policy against Azerbaijan.

“At the same time, it is known that, contrary to the Tripartite Statement, Armenia still does not withdraw its armed forces from the territories of Azerbaijan and keeps eight Azerbaijani villages under occupation. In this regard, the prime minister should first clarify what is meant by the 1991 borders,” the statement said.

It also said that Armenia continues to “distort” the decision of the International Court of Justice regarding the Lachin road on Feb. 23 rather than giving a positive response to Baku's proposal to establish a border checkpoint at the beginning of the road.

“Instead of making baseless statements, we demand that the Armenian side return to the negotiations on the peace agreement, which they refused since December last year, open communications, comply with the obligations arising from the Tripartite Declaration, including the complete withdrawal of its forces from the territories of Azerbaijan, and refrain from taking steps against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan,” it added.

In the most recent rise in tensions between Baku and Yerevan, three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed Tuesday during an attack by Armenian forces in Lachin district of the East Zangezur region.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.​​​​​​​