"Only return of Azerbaijanis to Nagorno-Karabakh can ensure peace there"

The Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region has issued a statement regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. The document stresses that 'the people of Nagorno-Karabakh', the participation in talks of which is advocated by Armenia, does not exist in any international document.

“Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, speaking last month at the plenary session of the 16th annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi city, clarified this issue by saying that the concept of 'the people of Nagorno-Karabakh' does not exist. There is population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which consisted of the Azerbaijani and Armenian people before the conflict, and they have equal rights," the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region recalled in the first place.

"As a result of the conflict, the entire Azerbaijani population was expelled from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as from seven other districts of Azerbaijan," the statement noted.

“As part of the OSCE Minsk process responsible for resolving the conflict, the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh are identified as interested parties. The documents of authoritative international organizations related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, never reflected the concept of 'people of Nagorno-Karabakh', either," the document reads.

“We would like to remind that this year, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, where Russia's Igor Popov is also represented, made two visits to the region and in both final statements for each visit separately noted that they met with the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region noted.

“As for which solution is acceptable for Azerbaijan, it consists in restoring Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, recognized by the entire international community, returning over a million refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes, including to Nagorno-Karabakh,” the statement says.

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov himself, while speaking at international events, demands compliance with the UN Charter and the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, and criticizes other states because of this. We, as the Azerbaijani community of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, once again declare that over 80,000 Azerbaijani members of our community are waiting for the day when they return to their homes. We expect co-chairing states mediating the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as influential international organizations to take a fair position. Only after that peace will be established in Nagorno-Karabakh, and, as before, Azerbaijanis and Armenians will be able to live in peaceful conditions within Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders," the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region concluded.