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• Azay Guliyev: My response to baseless allegations on so called “ethnic cleansing” in Garabagh region of Azerbaijan

  Azay Guliyev: My response to baseless allegations on so called “ethnic cleansing” in Garabagh region of Azerbaijan.

  As it is well known, Azerbaijan had suffered for 30 year-long occupation of its 1\5 sovereign territories by Armenia, people of Azerbaijan had been subjected to genocide (in 1992, Khojaly), ethnic cleansing (800K Azerbaijanis had been forcibly expelled from Nagorno Karabakh and 7 surrounding districts in 1992-1993), 8 cities and hundreds of villages leveled to ground. Despite 4 relevant UN Security Consul resolutions demanding the complete and unconditional withdraw of Armenian occupying forces from Azerbaijan, no action had been taken to this end neither by Armenia nor by international organizations or individual countries.
  On September 27, 2020 Azerbaijan started to liberate its territories and eventually forced Armenia to sign Trilateral Statement on 10 November 2020 resulting in restoration of its territorial integrity. Along with other commitments, Armenia undertook an obligation to windthrow its 10K strong military formation from Garabagh and reopen all communications with Azerbaijan under this Statement. As usual, Armenia did not honor its commitments, not only refused to windthrow its illegal armed forces, on contrary, continued rotation and finance its illegal military forces and planting landmines in the area.
  On 19 September 2023 Azerbaijan launched local counter-terrorist measures in response to anti-tank mine explosions recently planted by illegal Armenian armed unites in Garabakh causing the causalities of 5 police and 2 civilians wounding 7 others. it is worse mentioning that the counter-terrorist measures had been conducted in very accurate way and only targeted on legitimate military objects and illegal armed forces of the Republic of Armenia stationed in Azerbaijan. After 23 hours and 51 minutes, namely on 20 September 2023 by 13:00 Azerbaijan successfully completed it and illegal armed formation of the Republic of Armenia agreed on putting down guns and to be disarmed and disbanded. So, Azerbaijan fully restored its sovereignty in all Garabagh region after 31 years of occupation.
  Moreover, puppet regime installed by Armenia in Garabagh also accepted its dissolving and long pending proposal of official Baku to hold a meeting in Yevlakh city for detailed discussions the reintegration process of Armenian residents into Constitutional order of Azerbaijan.
  For the last 7 days, 3 meetings have been successfully held between representatives of Armenian residents and central authority which significantly contributed to resolution of humanitarian and health care issues of local population by Azerbaijani government. On 21 September 2023 Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan has made a public statement and officially pledged to guaranty safety, security, and wellbeing of Armenian residents of Garabagh region of Azerbaijan under its Constitution.
  Now, a few words about those Armenians leaving Garabagh and so called “ethnic cleansing” claims.
  First and foremost, it must be understood that no one, be it Azerbaijani authority or its representatives have been forcing Armenians in Garbagh to leave the region. On contrary, as I mentioned earlier, we consistently made a call for safe and dignified reintegration of Armenian residents and Azerbaijan is not/cannot /will not be interesting in massive departure of its potential citizens from the area, particularly, after restoring its sovereignty all over the region.
  According to my observation and conducted interviews by media, those Armenians who leave Garabakh should be divided into three categories:
  The first category of people is the one who still lives with the ideology of separatism and “miatsum” (unification) with Armenia categorically rejecting the sovereignty and constitutional order of Azerbaijan in Garabakh. Under such circumstances they had to decide where to live and nobody can prevent them from making an appropriate decision in this regard.
  The second category of people leaving our territories is the one who has a citizenship of Russian Federation and other foreign countries. It is known that, legislation in Azerbaijan does not allow a dual citizenship and these categories of people should make a choice on which passport do they prefer?
  The third category of people are those who temporarily leave Garabagh unless situation is fully normalized and all reintegration tools and mechanisms are enough clear. I do believe that this type of people is in majority and they will be returned as soon as they realized a real difference made by the government of Azerbaijan on the ground.
  Having analyzed all situation in good faith, nobody can claim that there is an intention by Azerbaijan to pursue an ethnic cleansing policy towards Armenians from Garabagh. Such accusations are simply null and void. We resolutely reject such groundless accusations made by Armenian government in close orchestration of some international media such as CNN, BBC, DW, NBS and others.
  No serious man in the world can believe in such manipulation and propaganda on “ethnic cleansing” when Azerbaijan renders all kind of supports to Armenians in Garabakh and tirelessly working to ensure their safety and dignified reintegration into our society.
  In conclusion, I would recommend those who want to be sure how ethnic cleansing is being done, just to look at the very fact that up to one million expelled Azerbaijanis subjected to real ethnic cleansing 3 decades ago are still waiting for fully de-mining all liberated territories and reconstruction of their ruined cities, villages to make them able to return back to their homes.

  By Azay Guliyev (Azerbaijan) was elected Chair at the 2022 Annual Session in Birmingham.

  He previously served as Vice-President and as Vice-Chair of the General Committee on Political Affairs and Security. He furthermore served as OSCE PA Special Representative on South East Europe from August 2021 until July 2022. 

  A member of his national parliament since 2005, Dr. Guliyev currently serves on the Permanent Committee on State Building and Legislative Policy and is the author of the law on “Voluntary Act” and the law on “Civic Participation” of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He also heads the Azerbaijan-Romania Inter-parliamentary Working Group and is a member of several other working groups promoting Azerbaijan's bilateral relations with various countries. Since 2008, he has also served as Head of the Council on State Support to NGOs.

  Guliyev has been a member of Azerbaijan's OSCE PA Delegation since 2005 and has participated in election observation missions to Belarus, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. Since assuming the position of the Vice President of the OSCE PA, Guliyev has served as the Head of the OSCE PA Election Observation Mission to Montenegro and the fortmer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and as Special Co-ordinator of the short-term OSCE observer mission to Kyrgyzstan.

• The Embassy of Turkmenistan in Georgia held a briefing dedicated to the 32nd Anniversary of Turkmenistan's Independence

  On 25 September 2023, the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Georgia held a briefing for the representatives of Georgian media on the 32^nd Anniversary of Turkmenistan's independence as well as the participation of Esteemed President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov in the 78^th Session of the UN General Assembly.

  The briefing was attended by journalists of “TV-24”, the Georgian First Channel “1TV”, the private consulting and publishing company “Georgian Business Consulting Group”, news agency “News Day Georgia”, online media “Geoecohub”, newspapers “Resonance”, “Multinational Georgia”, “Free Georgia”, “Komsomolskaya Pravda”.

  In his speech, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan in Georgia D. Seyitmammedov noted that during the years of independence, huge successes have been achieved in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. The great transformations initiated by Hero Arkadag successfully continuous under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

  It was also noted that, being committed to the policy of peacefulness, positive neutrality and international cooperation, Turkmenistan is steadfastly pursuing its chosen course, developing constructive dialogue both at the international level and in the format of international organizations.

  The diplomat also briefed the participants on the main initiatives voiced in the keynote speech of the Esteemed President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov from the rostrum of the 78^th Session of the UN General Assembly.

  It was noted that the political statement of the President of Turkmenistan assessed the current state of affairs in the world and put forward very serious proposals aimed at resolving a number of topical issues on the global agenda today.

  Special emphasis was placed on the dynamic development of Turkmen-Georgian relations, which are based on regular political dialogue, strengthening of economic ties, as well as close interaction in many areas of cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

  The briefing participants were shown a video demonstrating the achievements of the country as well as familiarizing them with the history and culture of Turkmens.

  As part of the briefing, the Embassy hosted an exhibition of books by the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, as well as works of culture and art of the Turkmen people.

• A MEETING TOOK PLACE BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL

  On September 18, 2023, the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov held a meeting with the President of the European Council Charles Michel in New York.

  As the head of state noted, Turkmenistan attaches great importance to strengthening friendly ties and constructive dialogue with the EU, which is expanding every year, covering new areas of interaction.

  In this context, the successful cooperation of Turkmenistan with this international structure, both in a bilateral format and within the framework of the European Union - Central Asia Dialogue, was emphasized.

  The European Union is a long-time partner of Turkmenistan in the implementation of a number of specialized projects and programs aimed at solving priority tasks for the further economic and social development of our country, including in the field of legislation, education, information and communication technologies, agriculture and water management, environmental protection, climate change, the head of state emphasized.

  At the same time, it was noted that currently leading European companies are represented in many sectors of the Turkmen economy - in the oil and gas complex, transport, electricity, construction, communications and communications.

  During the conversation, an interested exchange of views took place on the prospects for further interaction in the context of its key aspects and the existing diverse potential.

• THE PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA DISCUSSED ISSUES OF COOPERATION

  On September 18, 2023, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, met with the President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol.

  Stressing that he is very pleased with today’s meeting in New York, the President of Turkmenistan expressed confidence that the current negotiations will help identify new ways for the development of bilateral relations and will give an effective impetus to their further expansion.

  As noted, Turkmen-Korean relations and mutually beneficial partnership, based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit, respect and trust, have been actively developed and continue to grow steadily in an ascending line, filling with qualitatively new content.

  Stressing that our states are currently fruitfully cooperating not only in a bilateral format, but also within the framework of international organizations, primarily the UN, the interlocutors noted with satisfaction the established constructive partnership in supporting initiatives aimed at achieving lasting peace, sustainable sustainability and security .

  Successful bilateral interaction within the framework of the Central Asia-Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum was also noted. As part of Turkmenistan’s chairmanship in this structure, the 16th meeting of this Forum is planned to be held in Ashgabat in November. In this regard, the head of Turkmenistan expressed firm confidence that its results will contribute to the coordination of joint efforts with the Republic of Korea in the implementation of economic, cultural and humanitarian projects at the regional level.

  Particular emphasis was placed on the growing role of parliamentary diplomacy. In this context, the great importance of the ongoing high-level mutual visits was emphasized. Thus, the visit of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the Republic of Korea in November 2022, the visit of the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Kim Jin-pyo to Turkmenistan in July 2023, as well as the visit of the Mejlis delegation to the Republic of Korea taking place these days to participate in the inter-parliamentary forum, they brought Turkmen-Korean cooperation in this area to a new level.

  In conclusion, the mutual readiness of the parties was confirmed to continue to make the necessary joint efforts to bring Turkmen-Korean relations to a qualitatively new level for the benefit of the two states.

• THE PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN MET WITH THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE WTO

  On September 18, 2023, the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

  The head of Turkmenistan and the head of the largest international trade organization expressed satisfaction with the opportunity to discuss in a personal conversation the current state and prospects for the development of cooperation, the results of the current meeting, in the general opinion, will serve as an important impetus for further strengthening.

  As noted, Turkmenistan is systematically carrying out work to stimulate the development of the national economy and improve the well-being of the people, further expand foreign economic relations and attract foreign investment to the country.

  During the meeting, it was also noted that a special Government Commission operates in Turkmenistan, which is charged with studying issues related to our country’s accession to the WTO, as well as preparing relevant proposals. As a result of the work done, in July 2020, Turkmenistan was assigned observer status, and in February 2022, the status of an acceding country (“active observer”) to the World Trade Organization.