Azerbaijan's "reintegration" thesis has never been reality - Artsakh State Minister
YEREVAN, March 23. /ARKA/. Armenians and Azerbaijanis lived together for some time in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), but they never were integrated, Artsakh State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan said today.
"In the period which Baku appeals to, a huge number of crimes were committed by Azerbaijanis against Karabakh Armenians on the national ground. The idea of integration put forward by Azerbaijan has never been a reality since the 20th century. Consequently, these arguments are false, designed to mislead the international community and implement the current aspirations of official Baku. Our task should be to explain to the international community the content and the essence of this problem," said the State Minister on Thursday speaking at an online press conference.
The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, according to Nersisyan, should be able to present the truth fully, and communicate directly with international actors.
‘Artsakh has much more reasons for independence than some other countries,’ Artsakh Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan said during a video conference.
"We have repeatedly stated during all the meetings, first of all with the representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group countries before and now that there are more reasons for Artsakh's independence recognition than, for instance, for Kosovo. And no matter what they say or what position they voice, we have always proceeded and continue to proceed from the position expressed by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh," the minister said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responded today to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's "accusations" that "Armenia is a mono-ethnic country with no national minorities.
Speaking at a government meeting Pashinyan described Aliyev’s allegation as gross interference in Armenia's internal affairs, reminding that there are not only national minorities in Armenia -Russians, Greeks, Kurds, Yezidis, Assyrians, Jews, Ukrainians and others, but they are also represented in the parliament.
Pashinyan recalled that in Azerbaijan the persecution of ethnic minorities is systematic.
"The international press is full of stories about murders and arrests of leaders defending the interests of national minorities in Azerbaijan. These stories are being told by eyewitnesses as well as activists or family members who have been tortured and persecuted. Maybe Azerbaijan will show good will and set parliamentary quotas for national minorities in the Milli Majlis (parliament) and guarantee this by the Constitution. That might be the first step to rectify the situation," Pashinyan said. -0-
