Azerbaijan in UN Distorts Statements, Cries For Help

The panel was presided over by the organizer of the event – the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan Agshin Mehdiyev, who speaking about the topic of the panel discussions made selective quotations from the different statements of the OSCE Minsk Group distorting their essence. He also complained about the Memorandum circulated in the United Nations by Armenia, labeling it as “disorienting.”

The key speaker of the event was invited from London – Professor Malcolm Shaw, Legal Adviser of Azerbaijan. He presented his report regarding the issue, which fully defends Azerbaijan’s position.

Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN, Ambassador Karen Nazarian took the floor and commenting on the statement of the Ambassador of Azerbaijan spoke about the inadmissibility of his claims from the viewpoint of international law. He particularly aimed his criticism at the distortions and unacceptable formulations present in the Professor Shaw’s report in regard to Nagorno Karabakh and the region of South Caucasus.

In his remarks the Permanent Representative of Armenia spoke about ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijan against Armenians and the real story behind the all out war against the people of Artsakh. He also reflected on the legal aspect of Nagorno Karabakh's separation from Azerbaijan. Commenting on the report concocted by the “Legal Adviser of Azerbaijan”, Ambassador Nazarian expressed disbelief that a professor of international law could claim that the right of people for self-determination had been reserved for a particular span of time – the period of decolonization, or that that right can be subordinated to territorial integrity.

Afterward, at the request of the Azerbaijani Ambassador, Professor Shaw provided comments on the issues raised by the Armenian Ambassador and noted that he was not a diplomat and couldn’t argue with the Permanent Representative of Armenia on that level. He added that the purpose of his reports was not to confuse the international community and he personally didn’t believe that those reports were biased. Professor Shaw didn’t respond to the question regarding the legal parity of the international norms. He also provided no answer to the question raised by the Armenian Ambassador regarding the responsibility of the government of Azerbaijan for violating international and humanitarian laws.

Sources
Mission of Armenia to the United Nations
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