Question: Azerbaijan has presented a motion to the 59th General Assembly on “The Situation in the Occupied Territories.” They specifically refer to so-called settlements. Such a step and such allegations do not seem to be in sync with the context of ongoing Nagorno Karabakh negotiations today. How does Armenia view these statements, and does Armenia intend to take reciprocal action?

Answer: Azerbaijan has always made unfounded statements about supposed ‘resettlement’ and other similar charges. Armenia has always refuted these charges and invited the international community to visit the region and see first hand for themselves. Azerbaijan has consistently opposed these Armenian proposals.

We state once again that there is no official policy of resettlement. There may be individuals who have decided to settle there, on their own – Armenian refugees from Shahumian or Getashen – but this by itself does not redefine the situation. We have said and will repeat again that if Azerbaijan selectively removes individual issues from the comprehensive discussion of Nagorno Karabakh’s status, to attract or divert international attention, then they must negotiate those issues directly with Nagorno Karabakh. In this sense, we believe that Azerbaijan’s recent UN initiative does not refer to us.