BAKU. April 13 (Interfax) - Baku urges Yerevan to return to talks on a peace treaty, while Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's accusations against Azerbaijan are unacceptable, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada said.
"We urge Armenia to return to talks on a peace treaty, which the country has refused to do since last December, to open up lines of communication, to comply with the obligations arising from the trilateral declaration, including the full withdrawal of its troops from the territory of Azerbaijan, and to cease actions directed against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan," Hajizada told reporters, in comments on Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan's remarks.
"In his speech, Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of the recent provocation on the border and of violating the commitments it undertook at the meetings in Prague and Sochi last October. This is totally unfounded and unacceptable," he added.
While reiterating the idea of using the 1991 borderline as the basis for delimitation, Pashinyan ignored the fact that the villages of Kerki and Baghanis Ayrim were occupied by Armenia in 1990, he said.
"Contrary to the trilateral statement, Armenia has still not withdrawn illegal Armenian armed formations from the territories of Azerbaijan, and keeps eight Azerbaijani villages under occupation. In this regard, the prime minister should first clarify what is meant by the 1991 borders," Hajizada said.
In addition, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Armenia's ongoing territorial claims to Azerbaijan, and Yerevan's failure to withdraw its troops from Azerbaijani territory, are a clear example of a serious violation of the agreements reached in Prague and Sochi, and Armenia's lack of interest in the peace process.
At the same time, Hajizada, referring to the situation surrounding the Lachin road, said that instead of responding positively to Azerbaijan's proposal to set up a border checkpoint, "the Armenian side has not hesitated to distort the decision of the International Court of Justice regarding the Lachin road." "It should be noted that the allegation that the Azerbaijani government is allegedly the organizer of protests on the Lachin road was rejected by the court, and the allegations that 'the road was closed' and 'a section was blocked' are unfounded," Hajizada said.
On Tuesday, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported the deaths of three Azerbaijani soldiers in a skirmish with Armenian troops.
Earlier on Thursday, Pashinyan said that Armenia is willing to withdraw its Armed Forces from the border with Azerbaijan in line with the 1991 declaration.