The statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan of 6 August 2019 is a stark demonstration of failure to adhere to basic rules of civility and decency, incapacity to sustain civilized norms of conduct between nations, especially amongst parties engaged at the highest level in highly complex and sensitive process of conflict resolution. Personal attacks, contained in the statement are deplorable and attest to the culture of intolerance and hatred towards the Armenian people, prevalent in Azerbaijan, spearheaded and encouraged by their authorities.

The authorities of Azerbaijan, who have been consistently rejecting any possibility of a direct engagement with the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and their elected authorities, who perpetrated ethnic cleansing and other mass atrocities against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s and in April 2016, who have been consistently conducting policies of hatred, including by way of public glorification of murderers of Armenians, bear direct and immediate responsibility for creating existential security risks for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Republic of Armenia remains the only guarantor for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in ensuring their security, their freedom and inalienable human rights, including the right to development and the right to self-determination. Armenia regrets the incapacity of the authorities of Azerbaijan to understand the context and the content of the speech of H.E. Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, of 5 August 2019, which addresses the pan-Armenian agenda of advancing unity, solidarity, development and prosperity for Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister of Armenia has repeatedly stated that any viable option for the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be acceptable to the peoples of Artsakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The authorities of Azerbaijan, however, have been consistently failing to reciprocate willingness and capacity for a solution acceptable to all parties. Azerbaijan continues to adhere to its maximalist demands, accompanied with the threat or use of force, consistently violates the ceasefire regime, defies the calls of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to consolidate an atmosphere conducive to peace and reject any solution acceptable to all parties. Such positions are consistently reflected in statements of the leadership of Azerbaijan.

The position of Armenia with regard to the peaceful settlement remains unchanged, which is clearly reflected in the above-mentioned address of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. Armenia is resolute in achieving a strictly peaceful resolution of the conflict, rejecting any threat or use of force and defending the security of the people of both the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.