The US, as a non-regional country, through its actions and statements is undermining the transportation security efforts of the regional countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said in response to biased remarks made by US Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe hearing, Trend reports.
“The one-sided and biased remarks made by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe hearing on November 15, 2023, are counterproductive, baseless, and unacceptable,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated. “We regard the hearings and delivered remarks as a blow to bilateral and multilateral Azerbaijan-US relations.” The baseless accusations leveled against Azerbaijan are useless and jeopardize regional peace and security.”
“While touching upon the latest situation in the region and circumstances that led to the 19-20 September counter-terrorism measures by Azerbaijan, the Sta
te Department representative ignored to mention the major challenge that led to such an action by Azerbaijan, namely the illegal stationing of more than 10,000 Armenian armed forces in contravention of the norms and principles of international law and the Tripartite Statement of November 10, 2020,” the ministry pointed out. “Furthermore, the Azerbaijani side has repeatedly stated in all the meetings, including with the U.S. side, that the mentioned forces are a source of threat in the region and urged an immediate withdrawal of these forces.”
“Moreover, the U.S. side, while mentioning the importance of taking forward the peace process, forgets to mention that for more than two months, Armenia has not been responding to Azerbaijan’s proposals on the peace agreement, thus delaying the process,” the ministry also said. “Despite the fact that it was Azerbaijan that initiated the peace process with basic principles and the necessity of signing the peace agreement, including the need for demarcation and delimitati
on of borders and opening up communication lines, the Assistant Secretary of State refrained from noting that the efforts in these areas were undermined and derailed by Armenia for the last three years. In contrast to Armenia, Azerbaijan has always respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia; that was also confirmed in the Prague meeting on October 6, 2022.”
“Azerbaijan has been dedicated to international law and the peace process not only after the 2020 44-Day War, but also throughout over 30 years of occupation of its lands. On the contrary, the US side, as mediator, has never pushed Armenia, as aggressor and destabilizing source in the area, to act in accordance with international law and withdraw from Azerbaijani territories and terminate occupation, which places responsibility on the US side as well,” the ministry stated. “Additionally, it was also the responsibility of the US side that it did not prevent a double-standard approach, while being on the side of the separatist regime, wa
s the only country to officially fund this regime, and facilitated their representative visits and meetings with US officials on a regular basis.”
“The United States, as a non-regional country, through its actions and statements, is undermining the transportation security efforts of the regional countries. It is well known to the U.S. side that Armenia has not fulfilled its obligations arising from paragraph 9 of the 2020 Tripartite Statement, which led Azerbaijan to decide to build alternative roads,” the ministry mentioned. “It is the sovereign right of Azerbaijan to agree with neighboring countries on how to build communication lines; that also includes an agreement with Iran related to a route to its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Against this backdrop, Azerbaijan also reconfirms the priority of the ‘3+2’ format (Azerbaijan-Armenia-Trkiye-Russia-Iran) for the security of the region. Therefore, any comments that undermine these efforts are inappropriate.”
“Regarding James O’Brien’s views on the waiver t
o the 907 Section, it appears that the US side is repeating the same mistake it made in 1992, when Azerbaijan was sanctioned with this amendment despite being a state that endured invasion and occupation. It was also the US side that decided to waive the 907 Section in 2001, when Azerbaijan joined US counter-terrorism operations around the world in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks,” the ministry said. “It was Azerbaijan that helped the US side by opening up its airspace routes, Northern Distribution Network, and logistics capabilities.” Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to fight alongside the United States in Afghanistan. Azerbaijan was likewise the last partner country to withdraw from Afghanistan.”
“Therefore, it turns out that the U.S. side has always considered the support of Azerbaijan as occasional, while it should be reminded that history has always repeated itself. Such an indifferent action by the U.S. side not to waive the 907 Section is an ill-disposed step towards Azerbaijan,” the minist
ry explained.
“Additionally, the remarks that ‘Azerbaijan’s use of force eroded trust and raised doubts regarding Baku’s commitment to a comprehensive peace with Armenia’ have no value bearing in mind that it was Azerbaijan who was the victim of aggression and use of force for almost 30 years. Azerbaijan once again underlines that, in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter, it had the legitimate right to use force to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry emphasized.
“Concerning the statement that the U.S. side has cancelled high-level bilateral meetings and engagements, which were initiated by the U.S. side with Azerbaijan, and ‘there cannot be ‘business as usual’ in our bilateral relationship,’ it should be noted that the relations could not be one-sided,” the ministry further noted. “Consequently, the same approach will be applied equally by Azerbaijan. In these circumstances, we consider the possibility of high-level visits from the United States to Azerbaijan inappropriate as w
ell.”
“Moreover, such a unilateral approach by the United States could lead to the loss of the mediation role of the United States. Under these circumstances, it is important to note that we do not consider it possible to hold the proposed meeting on the level of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington on November 20, 2023,” the ministry said.
“International law norms and principles have always been a priority for Azerbaijan in its foreign policy. Azerbaijan will always act in line with its international obligations. At the same time, Azerbaijan will resolutely and adequately address all the negative steps against its national interest,” added the ministry.
Source: Trend News Agency