In view of the exodus of Armenians from the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijani Ambassador Leyla Abdullayeva, invited to the set of BFMTV, reiterates that it is “the desire of the population not to stay.”
According to the Armenian authorities, 93,000 people, or more than three quarters of the 120,000 official residents of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, left their homes within a few days. The representative of Nagorno-Karabakh in France, Hovhannès Gevorgyan, who was a guest on BFMTV this Saturday evening, speaks of a “real ethnic cleansing”. What Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to France Leyla Abdullayeva denies on the same plateau.
“This is not ethnic cleansing, you cannot accuse Azerbaijan of unfounded things,” she exclaims, reiterating that “it is time to get rid of false speeches.”
In her opinion, the exodus of Armenians from this area is “a desire of the population not to stay.” “They were not forced” to leave.
The day after the announcement of the dissolution of the self-proclaimed separatist republic, “the population decided to leave the Nagorno-Karabakh region,” affirms Leyla Abdullayeva, recalling that this territory is “a sovereign country” of Baku recognized by the government international community.
Fear of retaliation
“The reality is that the government of Azerbaijan has asked the Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh not to leave their place of residence,” she added.
The Armenian population says they fear reprisals: This predominantly Christian region, which split off from predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan after the collapse of the USSR, was against Baku for more than three decades.
Armenians are “fleeing death,” says Hovhannès Gevorgyan.
For her part, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to France emphasizes that it is “normal” to have “a lack of trust between the two populations, as we have had three years of hostilities behind us.”
“We won’t change the situation overnight,” she says.
Negotiations planned
“We have proposed a dialogue to the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. We have already had meetings between the representatives of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and the central authority of Azerbaijan to achieve better communication and resolve the issues,” she explains.
According to AFP, negotiations between Azerbaijani officials and those in charge of the enclave over the crossing are planned for Monday in Stepanakert.
However, France regretted this Saturday that Baku had not agreed to the “sending of a United Nations humanitarian assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“Nobody believes in the possibility of the two communities living together. Neither the Armenians nor the Azerbaijanis are prepared for this option,” estimates Bayram Balci, researcher at Sciences Po in France, in an interview with AFP.
After the Baku-led blitzkrieg that left nearly 600 dead and the surrender on September 20, the self-proclaimed separatist republic of Nagorno-Karabakh announced its dissolution on January 1, 2024, more than 30 years after its founding.