Azerbaijani MP has protested against the “congratulatory letter” of Canadian MP to representative of the so-called "regime" in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Being the head of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the working group for Azerbaijan-Canada inter-parliamentary relations of Azerbaijan’s parliament, I protest and strongly condemn the "congratulatory letter" of Rachael Harder, a member of Canada’s House of Commons, who is close to the Armenian lobby, addressed to a representative of the so-called "regime" established by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan," Head of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, MP Tural Ganjaliyev told Trend on May 30.

He reminded Harder that Armenia continues the illegal occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the adjacent territories of Azerbaijan, while more than 28 years ago, the Azerbaijani population living there was forcibly expelled from their homes through ethnic cleansing and denied fundamental human rights against the basic principles of international law, resolutions of the UN and other international organizations.

“In this regard, the attempt to legitimize the "election" show organized on March 31 and April 14 by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is disrespectful to fundamental human rights and the rule of law. The world community, including Canada, unanimously supporting law and justice resolutely rejected the "election" show and expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan," he said. “Unfortunately, the parliamentarian of Canada, the country that highly respects human rights and freedoms, expressed support to the ethnic cleansing policy pursued by Armenia against Azerbaijanis, thereby casting a shadow on Canada’s foreign policy interests and the values ​​on which it is based.”

“I once again state that the Azerbaijani community of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, sparing no effort for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, peaceful coexistence and development of both communities of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, tirelessly strives to achieve this goal. We express our gratitude to all those in the international community, including Canada, who support our fair position, and we urge those who are against justice to avoid this wrong path, but express support to peaceful coexistence of the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region within the framework of the internationally recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," stressed Ganjaliyev.

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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Trend.az