Azerbaijan categorically rejects all accusations of ethnic cleansing against the Armenian population of Karabakh and the desire to commit them during the anti-terrorist measures on September 19-20, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of Azerbaijan Elnur Mammadov stated during the hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on the case regarding the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Report informs.

The deputy minister stressed that for the first time after 30 years of illegal occupation by Armenia, Azerbaijan was able to restore full sovereignty over its entire territory.

He noted that Armenia frequently repeats its unfounded accusations of ethnic cleansing and atrocities against civilians. He added that these accusations do not reflect reality in any way; moreover, they completely contradict the conclusions of two UN missions who visited Karabakh together with other international agencies.

Azerbaijan was not involved and will not carry out ethnic cleansing or attack the civilian population, Elnur Mammadov said, adding that the Armenians of Karabakh are citizens of the country and their rights and security will be ensured in the same way as other citizens of the country. At the same time, the country is ready to create conditions for their return and normal life.

Next, Elnur Mammadov moved on to the facts. He said that the events of September 19-20 occurred because of serious threats to the life and safety of Azerbaijani citizens due to the accumulation of a significant number of military formations of Armenia, a large number of modern weapons and ammunition in the territory of the Karabakh region, the ongoing creation of fortifications and re-mining of those Azerbaijani territories already cleared after de-occupation in 2020.

In response to this, Azerbaijan, on the afternoon of September 19, after the death of 6 people, including two civilians, on mines installed in previously cleared territories, began anti-terrorist measures that lasted less than 22 hours, and the armed formations surrendered and laid down their arms, Mammadov said.

He stressed that the Azerbaijani side made every effort and managed to avoid civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, cultural monuments and the environment.

Against this background, the Armenian side’s claims about Azerbaijan’s desire to attack the civilian population are completely unfounded, the deputy minister noted and stressed that this is also supported by the fact that Armenia was unable to provide evidence of this, simply because there is none.