RA Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan gave a speech at the 159th session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level.
“First of all, I would like to thank the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, His Excellency Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and the Chairman of this session, His Excellency the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, as well as all the member states for the opportunity to address this distinguished audience today. I see this as an event symbolizing friendship, mutual respect, and shared history.
I want to start my speech by expressing satisfaction with the centuries-old friendship between the Armenian and Arab peoples. We are bound by strong historical and cultural ties, which continue to serve as a basis for current friendly relations, cooperation, and warm people-to-people contacts. Our people have lived side by side and shared each other’s joys and sorrows.
During the tragic events of the beginning of the 20th century, thousands of Armenians were saved in 1915 and found safe refuge in Arab countries from the genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire. During that difficult period, Armenians were allowed to live and work in the Arab countries that hosted them. The Armenian people will never forget this attitude. And I am proud that our compatriots significantly contributed to the progress and development of those Arab countries in various fields.
I want to record that Armenia, the cradle of ancient civilizations, has also preserved the Islamic heritage, a vivid example of the thousands of manuscripts kept in the Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Matenadaran. In the center of our capital Yerevan, we proudly preserve and display Arabic manuscripts, which include such masterpieces of Arabic calligraphy as the first letters of the Holy Quran and rare books of religious, philosophical, historical, and philological content.
Armenia and the Arab countries have also established close relations and practical cooperation at the state level. There is a complete mutual understanding between Armenia and Arab countries on important issues, including the peace process in the Middle East.
Dear colleagues, Armenia is conducting negotiations with Azerbaijan in our region, discussing the issues of regulating the relations between the two countries to establish peace in the area.
In a short speech, I do not want to burden you with the details of the aggressions against the people of Nagorno Karabakh and the sovereign territory of Armenia. I also don’t want you to get into the realm of mutual accusations and arguments. Instead, I will provide an overview of the entire process.
I want to emphasize that Armenia rejects the use of force or the threat of force, tries to negotiate with its neighbors from a constructive position, and is committed to finding appropriate solutions to all unresolved issues through diplomacy. In response to our sincere efforts, Azerbaijan continues its hate speech, xenophobic rhetoric, and aggressive and bigoted actions.
In this regard, I would like to refer to the latest developments. As you know, for more than two months, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to the outside world, the Lachin Corridor, has been illegally blocked by a group of so-called eco-activists, apparently organized by the Azerbaijani government. Moreover, Azerbaijan regularly interrupts the supply of electricity and gas to Nagorno Karabakh, as a result of which the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh are on the verge of a humanitarian disaster. Instead of negotiating with the local authorities on the rights and security guarantees of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, the top leadership of Azerbaijan is calling on the Artsakh Armenians to leave their homes, to deprive them of their homeland and implement its policy of ethnic cleansing.
In the context of blocking the Lachin Corridor, I would like to emphasize that on February 22 of this year, the International Court of Justice made a legally binding decision to apply an emergency measure against Azerbaijan. With the conclusion above, the Court stated that there was an immediate danger of irreparable damage to the rights of Armenians. It obliged Azerbaijan to take all necessary measures to ensure the uninterrupted movement of people, vehicles, and cargo in both directions through the Lachin Corridor.
Dear Ministers, unfortunately, our neighbor continuously manipulates the issues of the settlement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh problem on various international platforms, especially in organizations where Azerbaijan is not represented, such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement, trying to give them a religious to and using the sensitive ideology of Islamic solidarity. We expect that such attempts will be rejected and will not drag our friendly Arab countries into the field of religious differences. We must prevent any further attempts to give religious overtones to purely political and humanitarian issues.
And once again, on this platform of the League of Arab States, I emphasize that Armenia attaches great importance to relations with the Arab states and reaffirms our readiness to expand the prospects of cooperation with each of your countries.”
