Threats of war or military posturing 'traditional components of Azerbaijan's non-costructive stance' - MFA

The spokesperson of Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has responded to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's recent statement regarding the upcoming inauguration of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) president-elect scheduled in the city of Shushi.

Anna Naghdalyan's statement, released by the MFA press service, is provided below:

"It’s worth mentioning that the threats of war or military posturing communicated either through statements or large-scale military exercises in violations of international commitments, represent traditional components of Azerbaijan's destructive stance, which has no impact either on the positions of the Armenian sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue or on the ongoing democratic processes in Artsakh. Nevertheless, they definitely undermine the establishment of an environment conducive to peace, which is necessary for the consideration of substantive issues. Armenia is committed to an exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

"Once again congratulating the people of Artsakh on the formation of authorities as result of democratic processes, we would like to reiterate that the Republic of Armenia will continue to closely cooperate with the new authorities, which represent the people of Artsakh in the peace process, and in this context we will consistently protect the exercise of the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination without any limitations."

Arayik Harutyunyan won presidency in Nagorno-Karabakh in the run-off elections on April 14. He led the polls with 88% to become the country's fourth leader. Harutyunyan replaces Bako Sahakyan, the outgoing president who was at the helm of state for 13 years. 

The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in 1988 when the Armenian majority of the then autonomous region declared its intention to break away from Azerbaijan. In a referendum held on December 10, 1991 (days before the collapse of the USSR), the population voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence (99.89%). The move was followed by Azerbaijan’s large-scale military operations against Nagorno-Karabakh and seven neighboring regions. The armed violence left around 25,000-30,000 people dead; thousands were internally displaced. The Ceasefire Accord, which went into effect in May 1994, formally put an end to the armed attacks in the conflict zone. Since 1994, the OSCE Minsk Group, a mission co-chaired by France, the United States and Russia, has been spearheading the efforts towards  a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 

The hostilities escalated to an unprecedented degree in April 2016 in what was later dubbed a Four-Day War. In the early hours of April 1, 2016, Azerbaijan's armed forces launched heavy offensives along the Line of Contact,  provoking large-scale confrontations with the Defense Army of Nagorno-Kkarabakh. The adversary also shelled civilian settlements, particularly the southern and north-eastern regions of Hadrut and Marakert.

A ceasefire was reached on 5 April between the chiefs of the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow. The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities also welcomed the verbal agreement.