Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry on Monday blasted the Canadian government, condemning Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, who, in a statement issued on Sunday, called on Baku to guarantee the return of forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenian back to their ancestral lands.
Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada, condemned the statement, accusing the Canadian foreign minister of “manipulation” and “distortion of facts.”
“Canada has no moral right to preach about how peace and security should be established in our region,” Hajizada said.
“Such provocative and biased statements are nothing but an obstacle to the further development and progress of the region on the basis of respect for the principles of international law,” the Azerbaijani spokesperson added.
In her statement, which was issued on the one-year anniversary of Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh, Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, noted that the consequences of this Azerbaijani operation were significant, adding that more than 100,000 civilians, including 30,000 children, were forcibly displaced to Armenia, causing a rapid increase in humanitarian need in the country.
“The unjustified military operation by Azerbaijan followed a nine-month blockade of humanitarian goods to the Lachin corridor, in violation of the International Court of Justice provisional measures orders,” Joly said in her statement.
“Canada stands in solidarity with the people affected by this crisis and is grateful to Armenia for opening its doors. That is why, in 2023, we dedicated more than $3.9 million in humanitarian assistance to address urgent needs stemming from the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the foreign minister added.
“Canada continues to call for, and support, meaningful negotiations toward a comprehensive peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the continuation of dialogue and confidence-building measures between the parties for a just and durable peace for the people of this region,” she added.
“Canada has repeatedly called for the unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners of war from the 2020 Karabakh war. We also continue to call for the release of all arbitrarily detained ethnic Armenians from Azerbaijan,” Joly emphasized.
“Canada supports a negotiated political solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and promotes the principles of non-use of force, the respect of the territorial integrity and the right for self-determination in the negotiation of a just and durable peace for the people of this region. This should entail a safe and dignified right of return of Armenian civilians, guarantees for the protection of human rights and civic livelihoods, and the preservation of Armenian cultural and historical sites in the territory,” Joly concluded.
