Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh on the use by Azerbaijan of Phosphorus Munitions

We strongly and resolutely condemn the continued employment by Azerbaijan of prohibited means and methods of warfare under international law in the course of armed aggression waged against the Republic of Artsakh on 27 September 2020. In particular, the Azerbaijani armed forces, in addition to cluster munitions, began to use phosphorus-containing incendiary ammunition in wooded areas close to the settlements of the Republic of Artsakh, where part of the civilians from nearby villages have been temporarily sheltering from the actions of Azerbaijani subversive groups.

Contrary to its claims that the Azerbaijani armed forces as if are targeting only military objectives, official Baku is actually resorting to terror tactics against the civilian population of Artsakh. First of all, in this context, it is necessary to consider the consistent refusal of the Azerbaijani side to observe the humanitarian truce, since the continuation of hostilities allows the Baku authorities to further terrorize the civilian population of Artsakh. It is for this purposes that the Azerbaijani side resorts to the use of prohibited weapons, deliberate attacks on the civilian population and civilian objects, including medical units, setting itself the main task of exterminating and forcibly deporting the entire population of Artsakh.

In such cases, as an effective measure to prevent mass violations of the collective and individual rights of an entire people and protect them from physical destruction, the international community has developed a practice of recognizing the rights of these peoples to remedial secession and to enter international relations as an independent state.

30 years ago, the people of Artsakh chose the path of independence as a means of protection against Azerbaijan’s deliberate policy of exterminating the Armenian population. We are convinced, that under the circumstances of the ongoing attempts of the Baku authorities to complete their criminal plan, international recognition of the de facto independence of the Republic of Artsakh is an urgent and mature measure of the international community to fulfil its generally accepted obligations to prevent crimes against humanity.

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