No:212/20, Head of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdullayeva answers the question of the media
Question: The information disseminated in some mass media sources about the resettlement of Lebanese of Armenian origin after the explosion in Lebanon to the occupied territories of our country. We would like to know your comments on this matter.
Answer: As it is well-known, the illegal activities of the aggressor Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh region and the surrounding territories of Azerbaijan which it continues to keep under military occupation, as well as the policy of illegal settlement are being raised by the Azerbaijani side within the framework of the international organizations.
This is not the first time that Armenia while using the situation in the region for its nefarious purposes, attempts to illegally settle the population of Armenian origin from some Middle Eastern countries in the internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan.
The fact of illegal settlement conducted by Armenia was also recorded in the reports of the OSCE fact-finding missions.
Of course, these actions of Armenia are a gross violation of international humanitarian law, as well as the 1949 Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols.
The purpose of the occupying Armenia is to artificially increase the number of Armenians in these lands, to change the ethnic and cultural features of the territories, and thus to implement a policy of annexation.
Serious concern of Azerbaijani side with Armenia's policy of illegal settlement in the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, as well as Armenia's intention to use the tragedy in Lebanon for its own illegal purposes, has been raised before the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
Armenia must understand that these illegal activities and attempts of the artificial settlement will not give the expected results. The Azerbaijani population of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas will return to their homes and property, and the occupying Armenia will bear full responsibility for all its illegal actions.
Our demand to put an end to Armenia's purposeful settlement policy in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan will be further firmly raised before the international community.