“The Almaty Declaration cannot be considered a confirmation of Armenia’s ‘good will’.
Oku.Az reports, this is stated in the statement of the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) of Azerbaijan, Aykhan Hajizade, on the opinions expressed by the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, on the justification of militarization. from Armenia and the alleged threats from Azerbaijan.
According to A. Hajizade, the statements of the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia about the peaceful position of Armenia, which is equipped with offensive weapons by all means and continues its territorial claims against Azerbaijan in its constitution and other legal acts . , are manipulations designed to confuse the international community:
“It is interesting that even now the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia refers to the decision recently adopted by the Constitutional Court of Armenia on the conformity of the regulation regulating the joint activity of the border delimitation commissions between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the Armenian constitution as a “confirmation” that “territorial claims against its neighbors do not exist” in its constitution.
When verifying the facts of this statement, it is enough to remember that the Armenian side did not abandon the claims of the so-called “Western Armenia” even in January 2010, when the decision of the Constitutional Court on the compatibility of the protocols was adopted. on the normalization of relations with Türkiye with its Constitution was justified in detail.
The same logic and approach was applied during the adoption of the court’s decision of September 26, 2024 on the compatibility of the regulation of border commissions between Azerbaijan and Armenia with the Armenian Constitution. The court decision highlights the importance of the preamble as an integral part of the constitution, which includes the reference to the Declaration of Independence of Armenia, which contains the claim on the territories of Azerbaijan, despite the list of regions to which they currently belong. to Armenia. Notably, in the court decision, the preamble and, by extension, the Declaration of Independence were characterized as “basic principles of Armenian statehood” and noted that they are immutable provisions, further increasing the threat posed by the Armenian claims against the territories of Azerbaijan.
Referring to the Almaty Declaration, the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said: “It is known that the provisions on respect for territorial integrity and inviolability of borders stipulated in the Agreement on the establishment of the Community of Independent States States (CIS) of December 8, 1991 and the Almaty Declaration of December 21, 1991. The question of what are the actual borders between the member states of the CIS or what territories are included in each state is not clarified Therefore, the Almaty Declaration cannot be considered a confirmation of Armenia’s “good intentions.”
It cannot be denied that Armenia ratified the agreement on the creation of the CIS on February 18, 1992 with reservations. Furthermore, Armenia officially declared its intention to enter reservations on December 26, 1991, when the Supreme Soviet of Armenia ratified the Protocol to the Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS. Paragraph 10 of the decision of the Supreme Council of February 18, 1992 on the ratification of the agreement on the creation of the CIS clearly states that the Republic of Armenia considered the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as an independent state with the right to join the CIS”.
After this decision of the Supreme Soviet, Armenia never recognized “Nagorno-Karabakh” as part of Azerbaijan; this position was reaffirmed in the Decision of the Supreme Soviet of July 8, 1992 and reinforced by the Constitution of Armenia of July 5, 1995. So, regardless of whether it is necessary to draw the reservation to the attention of other countries about the treaty, and whether Armenia takes such measures, without passing any judgment, the reservations are part of Armenian law and cannot be denied. Thus, taking into account the already existing claim against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and its reservations in the constitution of Armenia when it acceded to the Almaty Declaration, Armenia excluded the recognition of “Nagorno-Karabakh” as an integral part of Azerbaijan. Therefore, until Armenia amends its constitution and renounces all legal and political acts reflecting its claim against Azerbaijan, there will be no legal basis for statements that Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.
Furthermore, given Armenia’s history of aggression against Azerbaijan when it acceded to the Almaty Declaration, it is time for Armenia to clarify what it meant in 1992 and now when it says “recognition of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each along the administrative borders of the republics”. of the former Soviet Union”.
According to the press secretary, in the context of all this and taking into account the unpredictable nature of Armenian politics, arguments about the right to self-defense that justify mass militarization are fictitious and dangerous.
A. Hajizade noted that, in addition, the false propaganda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia calling on Azerbaijan to refrain from visiting COP29 is regrettable, stating that Azerbaijan is using COP29 as a “smokescreen” to prepare for a attack on Armenia:
“The logic of the Armenian side of ignoring these problems shows that this country is not interested in lasting peace and is trying to maintain this situation as a backup option to initiate another aggression against Azerbaijan in the future.
“Armenia must refrain from contradictory statements and provocative actions and demonstrate by its actual activities and measures that it respects the norms and principles of international law.”
