Recent statements by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova concerning the former Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict represent a distortion of reality, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that this statement was made by Aykhan Hajizada, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, in response to Zakharova's comments.
Hajizada emphasized that the Garabagh region has consistently been recognized by the international community, including Russia, as an integral part of Azerbaijan. He stated: "For this reason, the persistent attempt to keep the issue of applying Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) mechanisms to Azerbaijani sovereign territories—which were under Armenian occupation for 30 years—on the agenda, and linking this to whether the Garabagh region was recognized by Armenia, is not only contrary to the Russian side's official position regarding Azerbaijan's Garabagh region but is also completely baseless."
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson added that Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with international law, effectively resolving the former conflict. "In this context, the practice of interpreting issues related to Russia-Armenia relations in connection with Azerbaijan must be brought to an end," Hajizada concluded.
The controversy stems from remarks made by Maria Zakharova on July 27 at the "Gvardeysk" youth forum. Zakharova claimed that while Armenia had called for the use of CSTO mechanisms, it remained unclear against whom or in what context they would be applied, noting that Armenia itself had not recognized the "Nagorno-Karabakh" entity as its own or as independent. Azerbaijan maintains that such rhetoric ignores the reality of its restored sovereignty over the region.
The Garabagh region, which was under Armenian occupation for nearly three decades, was fully reintegrated into Azerbaijan following the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020 and subsequent anti-terror measures in 2023. Azerbaijan continues to emphasize that its sovereignty over these territories is absolute and not subject to external negotiation or the internal political dynamics of third-party alliances.
