FOREIGN MINISTRY: AZERBAIJAN IS ABLE TO RETURN ITS LANDS IN ANY WAY
Trend, Azerbaijan
Feb 25 2013
Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 25 / Trend A. Taghiyeva /
Today Azerbaijan is able to return its lands in any way, spokesman
for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev said in an
interview with Turkish TV channel TRT Haber today.
"Azerbaijan is able to return its lands in any way," he said. "As we
are against human losses, political, rather than a military solution
is the priority for Azerbaijan."
He added that the main goal of Azerbaijani diplomacy is to change
the status quo.
"Khojaly was not chosen for perpetrating the massacre of the
Azerbaijanis by chance," he said. "One of the causes of the tragedy
at Khojaly is a geo-strategic location of the city and in particular
the airport located there."
He said the massacre was led by those who are holding now and
previously held the leading positions in Armenia. Incumbent Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan and ex-President Robert Kocharian are
among them.
"They do not even try to hide this fact and repeatedly said and
admitted this in their interviews with the media," he said.
Abdullayev stressed that Azerbaijan is trying to bring the truth about
the Khojaly to the world community resulting in the recognition of
Khojaly events as genocide by the parliaments of several countries.
On Feb. 25-26 February, 1992, Armenian occupation forces together with
the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi
(previously Stepanakert) committed an act of genocide towards the
population of the Azerbaijani Khojaly town.
Some 613 people were killed including 63 children, 106 women and 70
old men. A total of 1000 civilians were disabled during the genocide.
Eight families were killed, 130 children lost one parent and 25
lost both. Additionally, 1275 innocent residents were taken hostage,
while the fate of 150 remains unknown.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. -
are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four U.N. Security Council resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Trend, Azerbaijan
Feb 25 2013
Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 25 / Trend A. Taghiyeva /
Today Azerbaijan is able to return its lands in any way, spokesman
for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev said in an
interview with Turkish TV channel TRT Haber today.
"Azerbaijan is able to return its lands in any way," he said. "As we
are against human losses, political, rather than a military solution
is the priority for Azerbaijan."
He added that the main goal of Azerbaijani diplomacy is to change
the status quo.
"Khojaly was not chosen for perpetrating the massacre of the
Azerbaijanis by chance," he said. "One of the causes of the tragedy
at Khojaly is a geo-strategic location of the city and in particular
the airport located there."
He said the massacre was led by those who are holding now and
previously held the leading positions in Armenia. Incumbent Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan and ex-President Robert Kocharian are
among them.
"They do not even try to hide this fact and repeatedly said and
admitted this in their interviews with the media," he said.
Abdullayev stressed that Azerbaijan is trying to bring the truth about
the Khojaly to the world community resulting in the recognition of
Khojaly events as genocide by the parliaments of several countries.
On Feb. 25-26 February, 1992, Armenian occupation forces together with
the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi
(previously Stepanakert) committed an act of genocide towards the
population of the Azerbaijani Khojaly town.
Some 613 people were killed including 63 children, 106 women and 70
old men. A total of 1000 civilians were disabled during the genocide.
Eight families were killed, 130 children lost one parent and 25
lost both. Additionally, 1275 innocent residents were taken hostage,
while the fate of 150 remains unknown.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. -
are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four U.N. Security Council resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.