The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan commented the report by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights in regard with her visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan.
According to the ministry, this was the first visit in the last 30 years that was agreed upon with the government of Azerbaijanm which demonstrates the desire to cooperate.
However, in her address, the Commissioner groundlessly accused the country's authorities of forcibly transferring citizens into the territory of the Karabakh economic region after the counter-terrorism measures.
"Thus, the visit of the Commissioner to the region and her observations point to the fact that it was local Armenians own decision to leave the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan voluntarily without any application of force by Azerbaijani authorities," the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The department specifies a number of concrete steps taken by the republic;s government to ensure the rights of return of citizens who previously lived in these territories.
In addition, it is emphasized that the government of the country is ensuring the process of safe return of citizens.
"Thus, it was Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan that led to systematic acts of ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and forcible displacement of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis, including vulnerable children, elderly individuals, and women. Armenia’s aggression gravely deprived tens of thousands of children of their essential human rights, including the right to life, education, safety, protection, and health. We wished such evidences that triggered enmity between the two nations in the region were duly highlighted in the observations of the Commissioner," the statement reads.
According to the ministry, the Armenian side abused the Lachin road for illegal purposes, which led to the death of many civilians.
The mibistry noted that by inviting the commissioner, Azerbaijan expected observations based on neutrality, impartiality, but the findings rely not on the Commissioner’s direct observations during her visit but primarily on information obtained from biased sources.
