Mr ZOURABIAN (Armenia) – On 2 April, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military operation over the entire line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh, causing the first serious outbreak of war after the ceasefire, which was signed by the Defence Ministers of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan in 1994 and has largely held since then.
The four-day war has taken a serious toll on human life on both sides of the line of conflict and enormously endangered security in the region. By seeking a military solution to the conflict, Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated its utter disrespect of the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh – the very people they consider to be citizens of Azerbaijan – to live in security and freely choose their own fate.
That is why the conflict started in the first place. When Nagorno-Karabakh opted for independence from Azerbaijan through legal means, including the 1988 decision of its parliament and the 1991 referendum on independence, Azerbaijan made efforts to suppress that self-determination through pogroms, ethnic cleansing and military action. In 1991, Azerbaijan, in co-operation with Soviet troops, uprooted the Armenian population of 24 villages in Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1992, its disproportionate bombardment of Stepanakert took more than 1,000 lives. In response to such actions, the self-defence forces of Nagorno-Karabakh created the security zone around it.
The current peace plan that the co-chairs of the Minsk Group proposed envisages the recognition of the right to self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to be expressed in an internationally recognised referendum on its final status, and the provision of international security guarantees, connected with the return of the security zone.
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However, Azerbaijan refuses to negotiate in good faith, rejects direct negotiations with Nagorno-Karabakh and refuses to accept ceasefire-strengthening measures such as removing snipers and enhancing the monitoring mission. For a decade, it was busy with military build-up, the only purpose of which is to exterminate the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh rather than reach a reconciliation with them. The international community should ensure that Azerbaijan respects one of the most fundamental principles of international order – refraining from threat or the use of force for the resolution of conflict.