Azerbaijani citizens have right to stay in country's occupied territories
Armenian media with reference to the statement of Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian claim that allegedly Azerbaijani Armed Forces carry out diversions, with the help of criminals, familliar with the territory, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.
The ministry has denied the Armenian side's reports, noting that the claims are groundless.
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry also said that the occupied territories are the territories of sovereign Azerbaijan, and the country's citizens cannot be prohibited from them.
Earlier reports from the Armenian side claim that some Azerbaijani citizens have been detained in the occupied territories by Armenians. They were represented as soldiers, but the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry dismissed the reports.
Defense ministry's report emphasizes that despite the claim of the Armenian side, the said persons did not violate the state border, "as the lands under the control of fictional, illegally created by the occupation regime, are the territories of Azerbaijan recognized by the UN."
"The criminal Armenian leadership, which committed acts of violence against Azerbaijan, which participated in the committing of the Khojaly genocide, including Ohanyan, will answer before a fair trial soon and its actions will be given international legal and political assessment," the report said.
The report also said that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces can perform any mission and conduct operations without the involvement of civilians.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
