BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 22. Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, Hikmet Hajiyev met with the Baku Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as with other international partners, TurkicWorld reports.
Hajiyev noted on X (Twitter) that at the meeting with the ICRC, the Azerbaijani side provided and will provide all the necessary conditions for the delivery of medicines, food and other goods along the roads of Lachin-Khankendi and Aghdam-Khankendi.
“Strict observance of the İnternational Humanitarian Law by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan and by all means, avoiding collateral damage during the local anti-terrorist measures, which lasted 23 hours and 51 minutes, were commended,” said Hajiyev.
According to Hajiyev, as the Prime Minister of Armenia himself admitted, civilians were not harmed. In this regard, unverified and unserious statements by the EU, French, and German officials remain incomprehensible.
“Azerbaijani side is ready to provide medical assistance to wounded servicemen of Armenian origin or help them through the ICRC. Upon inquiry, movement of ICRC medical vehicles is supported to take on wounded military personnel. For this purpose, we are also ready to allocate emergency ambulances and provide medical care,” said Hajiyev.
He also noted that for medical evacuations to Armenia, ambulances can also come from Armenia. Work is underway with Russian peacekeepers to collect the bodies of combatants left on the field. Azerbaijan supports receiving additional personnel from ICRC Geneva Office, and also supports sending additional personnel from the Baku office to Khankendi sub-office.
“On the basis of voluntary and individual choice, we ensure the safety of the movement of civilians with their own vehicles along the Khankendi-Lachin road. Those who want to go are mostly family members of military personnel. Military personnel who voluntarily lay down their weapons are free as we openly stated,” he said.
In addition, Hajiyev said that within the concept of civil-military cooperation, Azerbaijani military and civilian personnel on the ground are helping civilians and will continue to do so.
In order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, suppression of large-scale provocations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, disarmament, and withdrawal of Armenian armed forces formations from the territories of Azerbaijan, localized anti-terrorist activities were carried out in the region.
Taking into account the appeal of the representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh through the Russian peacekeeping contingent, an agreement was reached on September 20, 2023, at 13:00 (GMT+4) to cease anti-terrorist activities of a local nature under the following conditions: the formations of the armed forces of Armenia, Armenian illegal armed formations located in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, lay down their weapons, leave their combat positions and military posts, and completely disarm; the formations of the armed forces of Armenia leave the territory of Azerbaijan; Armenian illegal armed groups are dissolved.
At the invitation of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ramin Mammadov, responsible for contacts with the Armenian residents of Karabakh, met with Sergey Martirosyan and David Melkumyan as representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh on September 21, 2023, in Yevlakh.
In the context of discussing social and humanitarian issues, the representatives of the Armenian residents of Azerbaijan's Karabakh region informed that there is a special need for fuel. At the same time, they asked for humanitarian assistance in the form of foodstuffs.
As a result of the meeting, their request was taken seriously. In particular, it is planned to supply fuel for the heating systems of kindergartens and schools, as well as the emergency medical service and fire department, and to provide humanitarian support in the near future.
An agreement was reached to hold another meeting soon.
