Republic of Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

No:263/20, Press release of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan

The chain of provocations committed by Armenia under the leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan both in words and deeds has undermined the negotiation process for the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and led to a significant rise of tension in the region (the non-exhaustive list is attached herewith). The bellicose statements, military, and other provocations accompanied by aggressive military posturing show that Armenia is preparing for new aggression against Azerbaijan.

Disproving whatever expectations the international community might have, the leadership of Armenia, since the very first days of assuming power, has opted to replicate the annexationist policy of his predecessors. Armenia publicly denounced its adherence to the logic and understandings underlying the OSCE Minsk Group-led negotiation process for years envisaging step-by-step withdrawal of its forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and thus undermined the negotiations. As the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev stated in his interview on September 19, “these politically flawed and harmful statements do not leave room for negotiations.”

Instead, Armenia has adopted a military doctrine and national security strategy under Pashinyan, which envisages a concept of “new war for new territories” and define the strategic goal of this country in the negotiation process as safeguarding the outcomes of the war. Together with its intensified and expanded illegal activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, including the illegal transfer of ethnic Armenians from the Middle East to the seized lands, the current leadership of Armenia has effectively proved that it pursues an annexationist policy and exploits the negotiations under the OSCE Minsk Group to that end.

The aggressive behavior of Armenia was culminated by a deliberate act of aggression on July 12-16 in the Tovuz direction of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border. This armed attack was by no means a spontaneous military incident, but a clear manifestation of Armenia’s illegal use of force against the Republic of Azerbaijan, and pursued the goal of seizing a new part of Azerbaijan.

Having failed in this “test” attack, nevertheless continuing preparation for the next turn of aggression, Armenia has acquired a large amount of weapons and ammunition and concentrated its forces along the line of contact. Threats of striking Azerbaijan’s critical civilian infrastructure and large residential areas are accompanied by intensified military reconnaissance and subversive actions deep inside the territory of Azerbaijan. In parallel, Armenia announced the establishment of a civilian militia consisting of tens of thousands of civilians who will be forced to undertake military actions against Azerbaijan.

In view of Armenia’s preparation for a new military offensive, Azerbaijan calls on the international community, in particular, the OSCE Minsk Group and its Co-Chairmen to bring Armenia to terms of common sense and urge this country to refrain from another aggression.

The Armenian leadership must withdraw from its provocative statements, cease all destabilizing actions, and faithfully comply with its commitments to achieve a political settlement, the parameters of which have already been identified by four resolutions of the UN Security Council and the decisions and documents of the OSCE. Until it happens statements by Armenian officials on the alleged readiness of Armenia for negotiations shall not deceive either Azerbaijan or the international community.

As it was stated by President Ilham Aliyev at the high-level event to mark the 75^th anniversary of the United Nations, there is only one way to achieve peace: the armed forces of Armenia must withdraw from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is not and will not ever be a subject of compromise.

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Armenia’s provocative actions since Nikol Pashinyan

has become the Prime Minister of Armenia on May 8, 2018

Date	Action
8 May 2018	In his address to Armenia’s National Assembly, prior to his election as PM, N.Pashinyan raised the issue of participation of the illegal regime established in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan as a party to the negotiations. Thus, he has started questioning the format of negotiations and has been doing so on numerous occasions.

9 May 2018	On the next day of the election, together with his wife, N.Pashinyan visited the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. In Khankendi, he participated in the celebration of the occupation of the Azerbaijani city of Shusha, discussed the issue of improvement of the mechanism of “restraint of the enemy” and opened the “Armenian Dram Museum” in Shusha.

16 June 2018	N.Pashinyan visited again the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, inspected positions of the armed forces of Armenia in the eastern part of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, and held military consultations with illegal regime “officials”.

9 July 2018	N.Pashinyan sent his son to undergo military service in the units of armed forces of Armenia deployed in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. He said that this gesture had been intended to encourage more Armenians to be enlisted in the army.

8 Sept. 2018	In meeting with the Russian-Armenian businessmen in Moscow, N.Pashinyan openly said that “he perceived Artsakh as part of Armenia in the future”.

27 February 2019	Armenia’s National Security Service Director Artur Vanetsyan at a press conference in the occupied Khankendi city said: “The program that we call a resettlement program, in my and everyone’s assessment will be the main guarantee of our country’s security. Because there are those speeches, those expressions, and those people who always manipulate this subject as if the lands will be returned, will be negotiated, conceded, etc. As a result of that program, we will send a clear message to all our people and the world that we have no intention to give up an inch of land; on the contrary, our compatriots must settle on those lands and build our country.”

12 March 2019	N.Pashinyan visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and in Khankendi city of Azerbaijan, held a joint meeting of the Security Councils of Armenia and the illegal regime created by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

30 March 2019	In a meeting with the Armenian community in New York, the Armenian Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan stated that a “territories for peace” approach will no longer be applied. “As the minister of defense, I announce that this format, territories for peace, I have re-phrased it. We are doing the opposite – a new war for new territories,” Tonoyan said. He also said that Armenia will increase the number of its strike units.

9 May 2019	N.Pashinyan visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan where he took part in the celebrations of the occupation of Shusha city.

30 May 2019	Armenia grossly violated the ceasefire regime on the front line. At a time when the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group paid a visit to Azerbaijan, on May 30 in the morning, a major of the Azerbaijan Army Mr. Agil Omarov was shot and killed by a sniper of the armed forces of Armenia in the direction of the Aghdam district.

10 June 2019	Minister of Defence D.Tonoyan confirmed that he had personally ordered the killing of an Azerbaijani soldier in the direction of Tartar district of the front line and publicly awarded the murder of an Azerbaijani soldier.

5 August 2019	Ahead of the start of the Pan-Armenian Games, N.Pashinyan declared that “Artsakh is Armenia. Period.” and the crowd chanted “Miatsum” (Unification).

6-17 August 2019	Armenia held pan-Armenian Games, for the first time, in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

9 August 2019	Armenia announced another 4-year project aimed at changing the infrastructure of the Sarsang Water Reservoir. Also, the Armenian side announced the construction of the third highway to connect Armenia with the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. These infrastructural changes, which are in violation of international law and Azerbaijani legislation, aimed at the consolidation of occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan.

24 Sept. – 5 October 2019	Armenian armed forces held large-scale military exercises entitled “The expansion of the Armed Forces: Combating the adversary’s aggression” in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan

23 December 2019	A joint session of the Security Councils of Armenia and the illegal regime established by Armenia in the occupied territories was held in Yerevan co-chaired by Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and “President” of the illegal regime Arayik Harutyunyan.

31 March 2020	Armenia held illegal “parliamentary” and “presidential” elections in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

21 April 2020	Commenting the remarks by Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, S.Lavrov, on “liberation of a number of areas around Nagorno-Karabakh and the unlocking of transport, economic and other communications”, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said: “There have not been and will not be any concessions. The Armenian sides will never exercise that approach”.

23 April 2020	Armenia’s MFA declared that a proposal for a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, envisaging a step-by-step approach, is not acceptable.

26 June 2020	Armed forces of Armenia, with the participation of the Chief of Staff Onik Gasparyan, held military exercises in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

10 July 2020	Armenia adopted a revised National Security Strategy, which defined that the goal of the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict was to consolidate the outcomes of the war launched by Armenia against Azerbaijan.

12-16 July 2020	Armenia attacked the positions of Azerbaijan at the Armenia-Azerbaijan international border, in the direction of the Tovuz district. 12 servicemen of Azerbaijan and one civilian were killed.

23 July 2020	N.Pashinyan declared that after the July clashes the Armenian position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict has been strengthened and he put forward 7 conditions, stipulating, inter alia, the following: the system of security of Armenia and the illegal regime “to be strengthened, the illegal regime “must become the full-fledged party to negotiations”, international monitoring of the cease-fire regime must be strengthened, and etc.

4 August 2020	After the devastating explosion in Beirut, Armenia announced its plan to implant Lebanese Armenians to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. According to the Armenian mass media, several Armenians from Lebanon have already settled in the occupied territories, including in Shusha. Thus, Armenia intensified its illegal settlement policy in 2020.

11 August 2020	The illegal regime announced its intention of transferring “key administrative offices” to the occupied Shusha city.

17 August 2020	The illegal regime threatened to strike the Azerbaijani city of Ganja.

26 August 2020	The Armenian Defense Ministry announced the plan to create a nationwide militia that would reinforce Armenia’s armed forces and could be deployed at “endangered sections” of Armenia’s borders or “line of contact with the adversary”.

28 August 2020	N.Pashinyan held the ceremony to award Armenian servicemen who conducted a military operation against Azerbaijan on July 12-16, 2020. In his speech, he again praised Armenian terrorists, such as Monte Melkonian, for their deeds against Azerbaijani civilians in the course of military operations in the early 1990s.

25-31 August 2020	Anna Hakobyan, the wife of Armenia’s Prime Minister, together with other women participated in combat and shooting training courses in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Videos and photos of the training were widely distributed in the media.

29 August 2020	N.Pashinyan visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. He awarded servicemen who took part in military aggression against Azerbaijan both in the early 1990s and in July 2020.

21 Sept. 2020	N.Pashinyan issued a message to the nation on the 29^th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. 2^nd line of the message reads “To the proud citizens of the Artsakh Republic!” [i.e. Karabakh].

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