The recent statements issued by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Azerbaijan once again blatantly indicate that the objective of Azerbaijan’s policy of systematic violence and terror against Nagorno-Karabakh is ethnic cleansing of the Armenian settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Thereby, on March 24, the invasion of Azerbaijani armed forces to the village of Parukh in Nagorno-Karabakh was preceded by constant shelling of Armenian settlements and civilian infrastructure, as well as the threats from the Azerbaijani side voiced for several days by loudspeakers and directed to the Armenian population of Khramort village, neighbouring the village of Parukh, urging them to leave their settlements.

In parallel with this invasion and provocation of hostilities, amid the unprecedented cold weather, Azerbaijan has been disrupting the operation of a vitally important gas pipeline for several weeks, putting the people of Nagorno-Karabakh on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Moreover, in order to complete its pursuit of ethnic cleansing and to implement the policy of subjecting the Armenians of Artsakh to genocide with new vigor, Azerbaijan demands through its statements the withdrawal of the self-defense forces of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The statements of the Foreign and Defense Ministries of Azerbaijan also prove the pre-planned manner of the aggression carried out by Azerbaijan in the area of responsibility of the peacekeeping forces of the Russian Federation in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a blatant contempt for commitments obliged by the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, including the provision for the sides to stop in their positions.

The international community is obliged to undertake effective and targeted steps to prevent the attempts of destabilizing the situation in the South Caucasus. At the same time, we emphasize the importance of implementing proper investigation of the actions of the peacekeeping contingent during the invasion of the units of Azerbaijani armed forces into the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the peacekeeping contingent to issue a clear demand to Azerbaijani forces to return to their starting positions.

We also expect the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh to undertake concrete, visible steps to resolve the situation and prevent new casualties and hostilities.