Armenia should immediately implement UN court’s decision: Azerbaijani official

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister Wednesday called on Armenia to immediately implement the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that ordered not to make ethnic discrimination against Azerbaijani people.

Elnur Mammadov stressed that Armenia's attempt to make political gains by expecting harsh decisions against Azerbaijan in the international court failed.

Underlining that many organizations, including the Interior Ministry in Armenia, reward those who consider Azerbaijan and Turks as enemies on social media, he said Azerbaijan filed a lawsuit in the international court about all these incidents.

“As a result, the court investigated these facts and imposed an obligation on Armenia to prevent all this,” he said.

Reminding that the ICJ can convey the issue to the UN Security Council in case the decisions are not implemented, he said if Armenia does not implement the decisions of the court, it will face serious pressure.

He called on Armenia to implement the court's decision as soon as possible.

“The Republic of Armenia shall, in accordance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred, including by organizations and private persons in its territory, targeted at persons of Azerbaijani national or ethnic origin,” the court said in a statement on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan-Armenia relations

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27 last year, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020 to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.

The cease-fire was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces withdrew in line with the agreement.

Prior to this, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal occupation for nearly 30 years.

On Jan. 11 this year, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It included the establishment of a trilateral working group on Karabakh.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara.