The 11th ordinary session of the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly, which has today kicked off in Brussels, the Kingdom of Belgium, continues.

In his remarks at a plenary session of the EuroNest PA, Speaker of Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan accused Azerbaijan of allegedly engaging in "ethnic cleansing in Karabakh" and "destroying Armenian heritage". He also used the term "Nagorno Karabakh" in his speech.

In response to the Armenian speaker, head of the Azerbaijani delegation, MP Tahir Mirkishili expressed strong disappointment with Simonyan's biased speech. He mentioned the negative impact of this speech, adding that this undermines the ongoing peace negotiations, and called for all parties to support the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Noting that there is no "Nagorno Karabakh" region in Azerbaijan, but Karabakh economic region, Mirkishili emphasized that Azerbaijan had never committed ethnic cleansing anywhere. "There are Armenians still residing in Khankendi. Armenia has caused extensive destruction in the region and contaminated the territories with landmines," he added.

The Azerbaijani MP called on the Armenian speaker to refrain from the lexicon they had used for three decades and deliver statements promoting peace.