Azerbaijani officials have used Greek Independence Day celebrations in Baku as an opportunity to propagate against Armenians.
According to APA , Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Khalaf Khalafov said this during his speech at the event dedicated to the National Day of Greece in Baku, that Armenia "cannot draw conclusions from the realities."
"Unfortunately, the ruling regime in Armenia today does not realise the essence and historical significance of the peace process, lives with revanchist feelings, and cannot draw conclusions from the realities," the deputy foreign minister said.
"They are still not giving up their disruptive activities, such as creating tension, causing provocation, inciting separatism among Armenians living in Karabakh, illegally transporting weapons and ammunitions to these areas, and strengthening illegal military units that should be removed from these areas," he continued.
The Deputy Minister also attempted to propagate that the Greek churches in Mehmana were destroyed by Armenians, a baseless claim that Greek City Times has confirmed to be false by a resident of the village.
In essence they show disrespect to Greeks by putting aside diplomatic etiquette and attacking a country which is very close to Greece. In the meantime, the Azeris feel that Greece will not punish them, even if Greeks feel insulted (as the Independence Day celebration was spoilt), they care very little.
Meanwhile, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has reiterated the call for Azerbaijan to reopen the Lachin corridor, the only lifeline to the historically and demographically Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Speaking at the House of Commons on Monday, the Minister said “we continue to call on the Azerbaijani authorities to reopen the Lachin corridor.”
“We need to prevent the worsening of the humanitarian crisis. Canada supports the 2020 ceasefire agreement, including the return of the Armenian prisoners of war. It is important that the cease fire, which is supported by the EU monitoring group, be respected,” Minister Joly said.
.@OurCommons FM @melaniejoly reiterates 🇨🇦's call on #Azerbaijan to reopen the #LachinCorridor & release #PoWs @JeanYip3 @ArmDiplo @MFAofArmenia pic.twitter.com/mlGlYdFqbc
— Armenia in Canada (@armembcan) March 27, 2023
Joly's comments come as Russia on Saturday, the same day as Greek Independence Day, accused Azerbaijan of violating the Moscow-brokered ceasefire that ended the 2020 war with Armenia, by letting its troops cross over the demarcation line.
"On March 25... a unit of the armed forces of Azerbaijan crossed a line of contact in the district of Shusha, in violation" of the agreement of November 9, 2020, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
It said Russian peacekeepers "are taking measures aimed at preventing escalation... and mutual provocations."
Earlier on Saturday, Azerbaijan's defence ministry said it has taken control of some auxiliary roads in its Armenian-majority breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh over which it had engaged in two invasions of.
The ministry said "necessary control measures were implemented by the units of the Azerbaijan Army in order to prevent the use of the dirt roads north of Lachin" for arms supplies from Armenia.
The sole road linking Karabakh to Armenia, the Lachin corridor, has been for months under Azerbaijani blockade, which Yerevan says has led to a humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Last week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned against a "very high risk of escalation" in Karabakh.
Armenia has also accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to protect ethnic Armenians living in the restive region.
The Armenian authorities have been warning for a long time that a humanitarian catastrophe is brewing in Nagorno-Karabakh. To restore unhindered movement along the Lachin corridor in Armenia, effective steps are expected from Russia, whose peacekeeping troops are stationed there.
Azerbaijan is still ignoring both the appeals of various countries and international organizations, as well as the decision of the Hague Court, which has obliged Azerbaijan to ensure unhindered movement along the corridor.
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