Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan talks about the problems with security and free will in a peremptory manner, Trend reports referring to Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva.

Abdullayeva was answering journalists' questions.

Commenting on Mnatsakanyan’s remarks regarding the statement made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the video conference on April 21, 2020, Abdullayeva stressed that the foundations of the new world order were laid after the World War II and were enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations of 1945, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and the Paris Charter of 1990.

“The norms and principles of international law, including the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and self-determination of peoples, have been described in all of these fundamental documents,” the spokesperson said.

"Both Azerbaijan and Armenia are full-fledged participants in these documents, who have committed themselves to impeccably comply with their conditions,” Abdullayeva said. “We remind that participating states must refrain from using force that threatens the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”

“We also emphasize once again that with regard to the principle of self-determination, participating states must act in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and relevant international law, including those related to the territorial integrity of states, as it has been stipulated in the Helsinki Final Act and then confirmed by the Paris Charter," Abdullayeva added.

“As for the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, while ignoring its aforementioned obligations, using military aggression against neighboring Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia occupied one fifth of the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, having subjected more than a million of Azerbaijanis to the ethnic cleansing,” the spokesperson said.

“Under these conditions, the foreign minister of the aggressor country, that is, Armenia, peremptorily states about the problems with security and free will,” the spokesperson said. “What kind of security and will Armenian foreign minister talks about under the conditions of military occupation?! The fact of the occupation of the territory of one state by another is permanent source of threat to the security.”

“It is impossible to talk about the security and free will of the Karabakh people when one third of them have been forcibly expelled from their places of permanent residence and they have been deprived of the opportunity to return to their houses and express free will in relation to the future of their region for about 30 years,” Abdullayeva added.

Regarding the statement made by Sergei Lavrov on April 21 on a phased settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Abdullayeva stressed that this position is confirmed by all OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, which was repeatedly and consistently voiced by them at all levels and stages of the conflict settlement process.

“It is necessary to remember that the occupation is temporary,” the spokesperson said. “The sooner Armenia realizes this and ceases self-deception, deceiving its own population and trying to mislead the world community, the more chances there are to avoid further bloodshed and aggravation of the already deplorable situation in the country.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.