ՀՀ մշտական ներկայացուցիչ Մհեր Մարգարյանի ելույթը ՄԱԿ ԳԱ առաջին կոմիտեի ընդհանուր քննարկմանը

12 հոկտեմբերի, 2020

Mr. Chairman,

I congratulate you and the members of the Bureau on the assumption of the leadership of the Committee and assure you of my delegation’s support to its work, despite the challenging circumstances we are facing.

Armenia reaffirms its strong commitment to the full and universal implementation of the international obligations in the areas of non-proliferation, disarmament, conventional arms control, and confidence and security building measures. We reiterate the principle of indivisibility of the international security, which implies that each and every country shares a responsibility to guarantee peace and security for all.

Amidst the unprecedented challenges caused by the pandemic, the international community must stand united to uphold the inviolability of the arms control regime. The tendencies of radicalism and extremism and the continued rise of hate speech have been increasingly infusing the international security agenda, distorting the global discourse and fostering social and political divides. Attempts to alter military balance and resort to force in pursuing domestic and foreign policy goals must be resolutely rejected and condemned at all levels. More often than not, reliance on use of force or threat of force in conflict resolution manifests lack of political will and genuine commitment for peace. The ongoing situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is illustrative in this regard.

On 27 September, Azerbaijan unleashed a large-scale military offensive along the entire line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh, in violation of the trilateral ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995, the norms of international law and principles of humanity. The offensive against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh was perpetrated with the direct military involvement of Turkey and the Turkish-backed foreign terrorist fighters, causing the most dangerous escalation in the region since early 1990s.

The scope and the character of the large-scale offensive indicate its pre-planned nature, with the pre-existing concentration of hundreds of units of battle tanks, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, combat aircrafts, attack helicopters and UAVs. As part of its military preparations for the aggression, weeks before the actual attack Azerbaijan had closed the air traffic, carried out a draft of the military reserve force and confiscated civilian trucks for military needs. On 25 September, two days prior to the attack, the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan rejected the request of the OSCE observers to conduct monitoring along the line of contact.

Azerbaijan has never made secret of its strategic goal of resorting to military force in trying to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The well-established records of non-compliance of Azerbaijan with treaties and regimes in the area of conventional arms control, unnotified large-scale military exercises, unabated and destabilizing military buildup and consistent refusal to implement confidence and security building measures in the framework of regional organizations represented clear early warning signs of a pre-planned military aggression.

Launched under the cover of the unprecedented global pandemic, Azerbaijan’s large-scale military offensive has been inflicting heavy human losses and massive damage to civilian settlements and critical civilian infrastructure, including healthcare institutions and schools. Azerbaijan’s failure to explicitly support the UNSG's appeal for immediate global ceasefire serves as yet another obvious indication of their well-nurtured plans of launching military actions while the international community is focused on response and recovery efforts.

Mr. Chairman,

There is no shortage of credible, well-documented evidence regarding the direct involvement of Turkey in the conflict. The large-scale Azerbaijan-Turkey joint military exercises held in July-August served as a disguise for the deployment of the Turkish military personnel and equipment which included F16 fighter jets. Supported by the Turkish air force, instructors and UAVs, Azerbaijan attempted to expand the geography of hostilities to the territory of Armenia. After repeatedly denying the factual evidence Azerbaijan has publicly acknowledged the presence of the Turkish air forces.

The recruiting and transporting of foreign terrorist fighters and their use in the large-scale offensive against the people of Artsakh has been well established and documented and there is mounting evidence of extensive involvement of Turkish-backed mercenaries and foreign terrorist fighters in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

Mr. Chair,

The political leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for their criminal actions, war crimes and other gross violations of the international humanitarian law. Massive airborne and land attacks have been targeting civilians, journalists, hospitals, schools and other vital infrastructure, with extensive use of military aviation, multiple launch rocket systems and even banned weaponry, such as cluster bombs.

The Crisis Response experts from Amnesty International have identified cluster munitions in the residential areas of Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital Stepanakert, which were fired by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

On 8 October the Azerbaijani military deliberately targeted the Holy Savior Cathedral of Shushi, replicating the style of international terrorists, destroying the heritage of ethnic and religious groups in the Middle East a few years ago.

The international community, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the United Nations Secretary-General, have called for immediate cessation of hostilities and return to negotiations without preconditions. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries (the Russian Federation, the United States and France) in their respective statements have condemned any involvement of external parties in escalating violence. Calls for immediate ceasefire and resumption of dialogue followed by many other countries and international organizations.

Despite all these appeals, Azerbaijan and its enabler country continued perpetrating hostilities against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.

On 10 October a joint statement by Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Russian Federation and Azerbaijan was adopted, in which the sides agreed to declare cessation of hostilities for humanitarian purposes for the exchange of the prisoners of war and bodies of those killed, with the mediation and in accordance with the criteria of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

However, breaking its own commitment the Azerbaijani side continued the military hostilities in different directions of the frontline and attacked capital city of Stepanakert, Martuni and other towns of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as settlements in the border territories of Armenia. An Azerbaijani subversive group penetrated Hadrut city of Artsakh and committed atrocity crime, killing 5 people, including a woman and a disabled person.

We strongly condemn the steps undertaken by Azerbaijan to undermine the agreement reached. Turkey’s aspirations to project violence and instability to our region and turn it into a platform for its expansionist ambitions by way of supporting Azerbaijan and supplying with foreign terrorist fighters, military equipment and experts, is evidences also in sponsoring information and political campaign aimed at undermining the provisions of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities. These actions pose serious threat to the international peace and security, and, as such, requires an adequate response from the international community.

Mr. Chairman,

We are convinced that peace and security at the global level stems directly from the conditions of stability at the regional and sub-regional levels. All attempts to use force as a method of conflict resolution, to use prohibited weapons in warfare and to sponsor international terrorism to project influence in the neighboring regions should be resolutely and unequivocally condemned.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate Armenia’s resolve to contribute to upholding international peace and security and advancing global cooperation under the disarmament agenda.

I thank you.

ՀՀ ԱԳՆ
պաշտոնական կայք

Երկքաղաքացիություն

Էլեկտրոնային վիզա

Արտոնագրի ձևեր