Commentary of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry dated August 11, 2021

The statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry of August 11, 2021, accusing Azerbaijan of allegedly violating the trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020, is another futile attempt by the Republic of Armenia to evade its obligations to fully implement the provisions of said document.

We draw the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia that paragraph 1 of the trilateral Statement announces “a complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of conflict shall be introduced at 00:00 hours Moscow time on November 10, 2020”, and it is also noted that the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia “shall stop at their current positions”. It should be emphasized that the word “stop” does not mean “remain” in this or any other context. This applies both to the Russian language, in which the document was drawn up, and other languages.

In addition, paragraph 3 of the trilateral statement defines that peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation shall be deployed “along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor”.
Paragraph 4 of the trilateral statement specially indicates that “the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation shall be deployed in parallel with the Armenian armed forces' withdrawal”.

Paragraph 6 of the trilateral statement states that “The Republic of Azerbaijan shall guarantee the safety of citizens, vehicles and goods traveling along the Lachin corridor in both directions”.

Thus, the agreed language of the Statement of November 10, 2020 signed by the three parties clearly notes the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan and in no way envisages the stationing and deployment of military personnel.

Attempts to make an absurd interpretation of the key provisions of the trilateral Statement indicate that the Armenian side either did not fully understand the essence of the document it signed on November 10, 2020, or initially did not intend to fully comply with its requirements. Such behavior once again underlines the destructive position of this country.

The international community is well aware of the practice of non-compliance by the Armenian side with the fundamental norms and principles of international law, decisions of international organizations and obligations assumed. In this regard, it is enough to mention Armenia's refusal to comply with the requirements of 4 UN Security Council resolutions of 1993.

This destructive practice is devoid of any prospects in the context of ensuring the long-awaited peace and security in the region.