We strongly condemn and reject the statement of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan dated September 28, 2023, that the Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan were allegedly subjected to "ethnic cleansing".

Axar.az reports that this was stated in the reply of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan to N. Pashinyan.

It was noted that such an alarming narrative contradicts the statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia dated September 21, in which he said that there is no threat to Armenian residents from Azerbaijan, as well as undermines Azerbaijan's efforts in the direction of humanitarian support and reintegration, and creates tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia. aimed at undermining the possible prospects of peace.

"The Armenian leadership ignores the fact that the central government institutions of Azerbaijan have started to promptly implement the necessary humanitarian support measures and meet their urgent needs for the Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region.

It is well known to Prime Minister Pashinyan that the departure of the Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is their personal and individual decision, and it has nothing to do with forced displacement. If some segment of Armenian residents does not want to live within the framework of Azerbaijani legislation and authority and obey it, we cannot force them to do so. On the contrary, we urge the Armenian residents not to leave their places of residence and to become part of the multi-ethnic Azerbaijani society.

In order to establish peace and security in the region, Armenia should eliminate obstacles to the reintegration process of Armenian residents and focus on the successful completion of the negotiation process on the peace agreement based on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of both countries," the MFA said.