BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20. The recent statements by US congressmen Frank Pallone and Edward Markey following their participation in the COP29 climate summit regarding their visit to Azerbaijan are disconnected from reality, a development that has sparked deep disappointment on our part, Azerbaijan's Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) Sabina Aliyeva said in a response statement, TurkicWorld reports.
Aliyeva condemned the remarks made by the US lawmakers, particularly those regarding the situation in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, calling them a reflection of the congressmen's hostile stance toward the country.
"Instead of making baseless statements, we would expect these congressmen to prioritize the issue of ensuring the safe and dignified return of hundreds of thousands of our compatriots, who were displaced from what is now Armenia due to their ethnicity, to their ancestral lands, without any discrimination.
I would also like to remind the US lawmakers that as a result of Armenia’s occupation policies, twenty percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory was under occupation for nearly thirty years, and over one million Azerbaijanis became internally displaced persons.
However, we are witnessing that Frank Pallone and Edward Markey, in this sensitive period, are not taking steps to foster sustainable peace in the region but are instead adopting positions that risk creating new sources of conflict. In his speech, Pallone endorses the ‘leader" of an illegitimate ‘entity’ that is not even recognized by the United States, a figure now under investigation for war crimes, while meddling in the internal affairs of another country and disregarding universally accepted norms and principles of international law. This raises the question: which political interests does this congressman truly serve?
I would also like to point out that these congressmen remain silent about the devastating mine terrorism carried out by Armenia, which claimed the lives of countless civilians, including the elderly, women, and children. Moreover, Armenia has yet to provide any information about the fate of nearly 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing during the First Karabakh War, further revealing their bias.
During COP29, Congressman Pallone evaded questions from independent media and failed to address compelling arguments, dismissing them with baseless claims. This behavior clearly reflects his intolerance for freedom of speech and the press," the Ombudsperson said.
Aliyeva reiterated her condemnation of the unjust and biased views expressed by the US lawmakers, which she attributed to the influence of the Armenian lobby, and called on them to respect international law and abandon attempts to foment conflict based on national grounds.
