From April 2nd, the international community has actively expressed concern over the destabilization of the situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh. All international and regional organizations, as well as individual states urge the opposing parties to show restraint, cease military operations, refrain from aggravating the situation, and more.

The RA Ministry of Defence attaches great importance to the international community’s reaction and the appeals addressed to the conflicting parties. The RA Defence Ministry highlights that the Republic of Armenia is the guarantor of security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, as a party that does not take part in hostilities, the RA Defence Ministry especially appreciates the fact that those appeals are addressed to the parties factually involved in these actions – the authorities of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.

The RA Ministry of Defence agrees with the abovementioned appeals and calls the international community’s attention to the fact that the establishment of the ceasefire regime between the forces of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh requires – besides political statements – the approval and implementation of specific measures, the definition of technical conditions for ceasefire, the removal/separation of conflicting forces, and the application of mechanisms preserving the ceasefire regime.

Meanwhile, the RA Ministry of Defence, once again, calls the international community’s attention, including international organizations dealing with human rights and humanitarian issues, on the fact that the military actions initiated by the Azerbaijani authorities are a violation of the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, the 1975 OSCE Helsinki Final Act, and a number of other international documents.

Throughout the military actions initiated by the Azerbaijani side, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and armed groups have demonstrated actions against servicemen and civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh similar to those executed by international terrorist groups, which, in accordance with international humanitarian law, are considered war crimes. Of these, particularly apparent are the torture of retired combatants and military prisoners, through beheadings captured by film and published with terrorist intentions, killings of civilian populations left under their control, defilement of corpses, and more.

The RA Ministry of Defence announces: Both the Azerbaijani government and war criminals should be held accountable for their war crimes and violations of international law, and answer in front of the international community.