Azerbaijan promised today at the UN to treat the Armenian majority in the Nagorno-Karabakh region as “equal citizens”, following the military victory in a lightning offensive launched last Tuesday.
“I want to reiterate that Azerbaijan is determined to reintegrate the Armenian inhabitants of the Azerbaijani region of Karabakh as equal citizens,” declared Foreign Minister Jeyhoun Baeramov from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly.
“The Constitution, the national legislation of Azerbaijan and the international commitments we have made constitute a solid basis for this objective,” he added, quoted by the AFP news agency.
Earlier this week, Azerbaijan launched an operation in this predominantly Armenian-populated region and won a lightning victory.
After this offensive, the inhabitants of the enclave negotiate with the Azerbaijani authorities the withdrawal of their troops, with a view to the return of peace.
Meanwhile, thousands of civilians live in a humanitarian emergency in the region, whose “capital”, Stepanakert, is surrounded by Azerbaijani soldiers, according to local authorities.
This mountainous enclave, annexed to Azerbaijan territory in 1921 by the Soviet authorities, had in the past been the scene of two wars between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia: one from 1988 to 1994 (30,000 dead) and the other in 2020 (6,500 dead).
“We continue to believe that there is a historic opportunity for Azerbaijan and Armenia to establish good-neighborly relations and coexist side by side in peace,” Foreign Minister Baeramov stated.
Meanwhile, in Armenia, the fifth day of opposition protests against the Government took place over the surrender of Nagorno Karabakh and the refusal to get involved in a direct conflict with Azerbaijan.
The demonstrations are taking place today in the three largest cities of the country: the capital Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor.
Source: Ambito