Day: September 25, 2023

The chief of the State Security Service, Colonel-General Ali
Naghiyev, made a speech at the international conference on
“Increasing national and global efforts to clarify the fate of
missing persons”, Azernews reports.

“I invite the official Yerevan to closer cooperation in matters
related to captives and hostages,” Naghiyev said at the
conference.

“We hope that accurate mine maps, as well as information about
the fate of the missing persons and their graves, will be provided
by Armenia to Azerbaijan. Finding and identifying the remains of
missing persons from both sides would serve to resolve the
long-standing humanitarian crisis,” he added.

At the conference, Naghiyev expressed hope that Armenia would
provide accurate mine maps, as well as information about the fate
of the missing persons and their graves, to Azerbaijan. He also
stated that finding and identifying the remains of missing persons
from both sides would serve to resolve the long-standing
humanitarian crisis.

Naghiyev further noted that Azerbaijan is ready for
comprehensive cooperation in this direction, but that their
expectations were not fully fulfilled. He invited the official
Yerevan to closer cooperation in matters related to the captives
and hostages.

Provocations against Azerbaijan by the special services of some
states are decisively suppressed, according to Naghiyev. He noted
that reconnaissance and subversive activities and provocations by
the special services of some states against Azerbaijan are
decisively suppressed.

Ali Naghiyev: ‘Most of Azerbaijani missing servicemen
were killed in internment camps, not on battlefields’

As a result of military aggression by Armenia, Azerbaijan
suffered a large number of human losses, and hundreds of cities and
villages were destroyed, the head of Azerbaijan’s State Security
Service, Colonel-General Ali Nagiyev, said at the international
conference on “Increasing national and global efforts to clarify
the fate of missing persons”.

According to him, in the first Garabagh war, 3,890 people were
registered as missing persons in the State Commission: “3,171 of
them are servicemen, while 719 are civilians. Among civilians, 71
are minors, 267 are women, and 326 are elderly people.

Naghiyev emphasized that six servicemen went missing during the
Patriotic War: “The obtained evidence indicates that a large number
of our missing servicemen were killed not on the battlefields, but
as a result of terrible torture in internment camps.”

—

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By Sabina Mammadli

The revanchist forces in Armenia and the foreign circles
patronizing them must accept the new realities that have formed in
the region, Chief of the State Security Service (SSS) of
Azerbaijan, Col-Gen Ali Naghiyev said, Azernews reports.

He made the remarks in an article published in the Azerbaijan
newspaper.

Ali Naghiyev underlined that if Armenia does not refrain from
all dirty actions which can pose a threat to Azerbaijan’s security,
adding that “it must take into account, as the president said, that
the Iron Fist is still there”.

He also added that the Armenian fascism had been destroyed, but
its signs remain.

“This is a very dangerous trend, first of all, for the Armenian
state. I said this, and I say it again, if we see that Armenian
fascism raises its head and a new source of danger emerges for our
people and state, we’ll crush it again immediately. Let everyone
know! The Iron Fist is there, and no one should forget that!” the
SSS chief emphasized.

Moreover, he highlighted that large-scale cyber attacks by
Armenia were successfully prevented during the second Karabakh
War.

“Azerbaijan’s State Security Service, mobilizing all forces and
means to prevent terrorist and provocative plans and intentions of
the enemy, provided comprehensive support within the limits of its
authority, contributing to the victory of the Azerbaijani army,” he
said.

Ali Naghiyev stated that the timely obtained intelligence played
a crucial role in preventing the enemy’s attacks, conducting
successful combat operations by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, and
liberation of certain settlements with minimal losses.

Further, he stressed that the tasks arising from the service
activities are successfully carried out by local bodies and
departments of the State Security Service established in the
liberated lands.

“For the employees of the State Security Service, who always
feel the attention and care of President Ilham Aliyev, all
conditions for the effective, flexible, and operational
organization of service in the territorial bodies in the liberated
from occupation lands, as well as in other cities and regions of
Azerbaijan, the material and technical support is provided at the
highest level,” Naghiyev said.

He noted that this is yet another vivid embodiment of the
president’s confidence in the personnel of the State Security
Service.

“We assure the president and our people that the personnel of
the State Security Service will continue to resolutely prevent any
threats aimed at the territorial integrity, sovereignty of our
state, public and political stability, and security atmosphere in
the country, and will continue to mobilize all forces and means,
performing their official duties with dignity and integrity, will
always be vigilant on guard of our statehood and independence!”
Nagiyev said.

—

Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @SabinaMmdl

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

The US is concerned about the situation in Nagorno Karabakh, US Department of State Spokesman Matthew Miller said at a daily briefing today.

“The most important now is that the ceasefire be maintained, that there is no further military action. Secondly, the humanitarian needs of the Nagorno Karabakh people must be addressed. Third, it’s important for Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a lasting peace agreement,” the Spokesman said.

With respect to the humanitarian situation on the ground, Mathew Miller said “ethnic Armenians should be able to stay in their homes in peace and dignity if they chose so”

“Those who want to leave or return, should be allowed safe passage overseen by an independent neutral third party,” he said.

The Spokesperson stressed that Azerbaijan has the responsibility to protect the civilians and ensure the humane treatment of all, “including those in suspect of being combatants.”

“We do believe there should be an international mission to provide transparency, reassurance and confidence to the residents of Nagorno Karabakh and the international community that their rights are protected consistent with public statements that Azerbaijan has made,” Miller noted.

He said there have been active discussions about that. “We have called for such a mission for some time, and we are working with allies and partners to secure one,” the State Department Spokesman said.

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the countries with friendly relations generally offer condolences and support to the states in a difficult situation, and do not blame them, and this is only the moral side of the issue. NA Vice President Ruben Rubinyan said in an interview with Public TV Company Monday, referring to the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“The saddest thing is that in a situation where the Armenian people have had many casualties and everyone sees the terrible situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, everyone sees that the security of the Republic of Armenia itself is threatened, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia’s ally country makes such a statement. The foreign ministries of the countries with friendly relations generally sympathize and support the states in a difficult situation, and do not blame them. This is the moral side of the issue.

The fact is that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was created because the statement of November 9 was violated on almost all points. That situation was created because Azerbaijan illegally blocked the Lachin corridor from the beginning, then attacked NK, and the Russian peacekeepers neither kept the Lachin corridor under their control nor prevented the attack on NK,” Rubinyan said.

Referring to the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry that due to the short-sightedness of the Armenian leadership, it was not possible to implement a number of agreements in the field of strengthening Armenia’s security, in particular, Pashinyan did not sign the decision already agreed by all the foreign ministers of the six countries to send a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) observation mission to Armenia’s regions bordering Azerbaijan, Rubinyan responded.

“In September 2022, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan attacked the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and occupied certain territories. CSTO, a structure whose responsibility is to protect the territorial integrity of its member states, not only failed to fulfill its obligation, but also did not fix the attack on the sovereign territory of RA. After that, the Prague meeting took place, then there was an agreement that EU observers would come to observe the RA borders, and only after that CSTO began to offer a CSTO observation mission, which RA did not reject, RA demanded one thing, that if the idea is that the CSTO observers should monitor the borders of Armenia, then they should be fixed, we know what they are, the international community knows, and the CSTO should fix those borders. It did not happen; there was no condemnation of the Azerbaijani attack.”

Referring to the part where the situation was heated up by official Yerevan’s denial of the continued presence of Armenian Armed Forces in Nagorno-Karabakh after November 9, 2020, which became one of the main reasons for the recent escalation in September, Rubinyan insisted that the Republic of Armenia did not have armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. “That statement completely contradicts the reality. One can say anything for not fulfilling one’s responsibilities, but that does not change the facts. Was there a Prague statement when Azerbaijan captured Old Tagher and Khtsaberd, when Parukh was captured, when the tractor driver sitting next to the Russian peacekeeper was killed by an Azerbaijani sniper?

Referring to the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry that in regional matters, Pashinyan, instead of leaving the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh to future generations, Rubinyan said: “If there was a gentleman’s agreement to postpone the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian Federation was the first to violate it, because in December 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that from the point of view of international law, Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions are part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan repeatedly refused this logic, for example, Khovaev’s proposals, which Armenia agreed to, were rejected by Azerbaijan. In that case, why does the Russian Foreign Ministry accuse Armenia of violating the gentleman’s agreement?”

Regarding the observation of the Russian Foreign Ministry that this irresponsible approach of Pashinyan’s team caused understandable dissatisfaction among a part of the Armenian society, which was expressed by popular protests, and the claims that they were inspired by Russia, Rubinyan said. “Relations between the people of Armenia and their own government, be it dissatisfaction, admiration, hatred, it is exclusively the business of the government and its people. We expect that all states, whether they are friendly or not, are obliged to respect the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Armenia.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey issued a veiled threat to Yerevan on Monday after he met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev in Nakhichevan, where the two hinted at advancing the so-called land corridor through Armenia.

Aliyev and Erdogan chose Nakhichevan as the venue for their meeting a week after Azerbaijani forces launched a massive offensive against Artsakh, causing further deaths of civilians, injuries and displacements of Artsakh residents.

In a press conference with Aliyev, Erdogan said that the two expect Armenia to accept the hand of peace it has been extended “and be sincere.”

“Following the recent victory [last week’s attack on Artsakh and the 2020 war], new windows of opportunity have been opened for a comprehensive normalization of the situation in the region. I believe this opportunity must be appreciated,” said Erdogan.

“We expect Armenia to accept the hand of peace extended to it and be sincere. As I have always emphasized, there is no loser in peace,” the Turkish leader said, adding that “the creation of peace, stability and prosperity in our region was our duty to our people.”

“We are determined to fulfill this duty and we are sincere. Our wish is for the other side to show the same sincerity,” Erdogan said.

During a joint press conference with Erdogan, Aliyev lamented that Soviet-era authorities had deemed part of what he said should have been territory belonging to the Azerbaijani Soviet republic as land belonging to the Armenian Soviet republic.

“The land link between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan was thus cut off,” complained Aliyev.

Turkey and Erdogan have pushed for the opening of the so-called “Zangezur Corridor.”

Addressing the UN General Assembly last week, Erdogan complained that Armenia was squandering this “historic opportunity to build peace” in the South Caucasus region.
“(But) Armenia is not making the most of this historical chance.”

“We expect a comprehensive peace agreement between the two countries (Azerbaijan and Armenia) as soon as possible and for promises to be quickly fulfilled, especially on the opening of the Zangezur (land) corridor,” Erdogan told the General Assembly.

Erdogan also supported Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh last week.