Baku rejects accusations of ethnic cleansing or genocide against the Armenian population in Karabakh, Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan said in an interview with France 24 responding to the accusations of the Armenian authorities, according to XQ.
"We cannot accept accusations of ethnic cleansing or genocide," the official said
"Ethnic cleansing is a forceful action, when somebody is using force against civilians -- (which is) what exactly Armenia used against us, 30 years ago," he noted, adding that "it doesn't mean we will repeat the same."
"There was no single case of violence or atrocity against civilians. They attest this themselves," he said.
As for civilians, "we opened the gate and respected their freedom of movement, freedom of choice".
"If they accept Azerbaijan citizenship, we will protect and ensure their rights and their security and we will establish a municipality system so that they can govern their affairs at a local level, and religious and cultural rights will be assured."
