Azerbaijani parliament responds to US Senators in its statement

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 14

By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:

The working group of the Azerbaijani parliament on Azerbaijan-US inter-parliamentary relations made a statement, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani parliament.

The statement was made in connection with a letter that some members of the US Senate addressed to US President Joseph Biden on February 9, 2021.

The senators who signed the letter criticized Turkey for supporting Azerbaijan, as the country ensured its territorial integrity and resolved the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on the principles and norms of international law.

In this regard, the statement of the Working Group of the Azerbaijani parliament on the Azerbaijan-US inter-parliamentary relations says:

“The letter addressed to President Biden by some members of the US Senate on February 9, 2021, caused our great surprise and regret. In this regard, as members of the Working Group on the Azerbaijan-US inter-parliamentary relations, we state the following:

– Most of the US senators who signed this letter have never called on Armenia to end the occupation of the internationally recognized territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan which lasted for 30 years;

– Most of the US senators have never expressed concern about Armenia’s policy of ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijani people, the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani people from their native lands, gross violation of human rights, the destruction and plundering of villages, cities, the ancient and rich cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people during the occupation;

– Many US senators did not condemn the numerous massacres committed by Armenia against the Azerbaijani people, Armenia’s war crimes, especially the Khojaly genocide, the 29th anniversary of which we will mark soon;

– The requirements to respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of the Azerbaijani borders and to end the Armenian occupation have been outlined in the UN Security Council’s resolutions 822, 853, 874, 884 and Washington also voted for all these resolutions;

– In accordance with the norms and principles of international law, the Republic of Azerbaijan liberated its lands from occupation as a result of the 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh war, thereby ensuring the implementation of well-known UN Security Council’s resolutions;

– The peacekeeping operation, launched in response to Armenia’s another military aggression, was carried out entirely within the internationally recognized borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan;

– It is unacceptable for the US senators to blame Azerbaijan for the settlement of the conflict, which has restored its territorial integrity;

– Such statements do not serve peace and security in the South Caucasus region, but can push the existing radical and revanchist forces in Armenia to the new escalation of the situation;

– It is unfair to criticize Turkey for its political and moral support for Azerbaijan’s just struggle, based on the norms and principles of international law;

– The growing politicization of human rights causes great concern;

– Senators’ attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign country such as Turkey are unacceptable;

– Although the protesters who illegally entered the US Congress have been named “terrorists”, there is a bias attitude based on support for the movement that tried to overthrow the democratically elected government in Turkey on July 15, 2016, and attempts to make its representatives out to be “human rights defenders”;

– The attempts to accuse Turkey, in which various ethnic groups have lived in peace and tranquility throughout history and which used its right to self-defense to prevent numerous threats in its region, fought against terrorism inside and outside the country, of confrontation with any ethnic group are doomed to failure.

– We appreciate Turkey’s stabilizing role in the South Caucasus and its activity aimed at peace and economic development in the region.

– We call on the US Senate to support and contribute to the efforts of Azerbaijan and Turkey to establish lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus,” the statement said.