The Wall Street Journal has published a letter by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Washington, which is a response to a recent article alleging Azerbaijan has territorial claims against Armenia.
The article, titled Azerbaijan Seeks Restitution, Peace, appeared both on the Wall Street Journal`s website and in its several U.S. editions.
The letter says: "Azerbaijan doesn`t claim any territory within Armenia ("Adventure & Travel: Discovering the Forgotten Holy Land," Off Duty, March 24). On the contrary, since the early 1990s Armenia has been illegally occupying around 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts."
"The illegal nature of the occupation and the expulsion of 750,000 citizens of Azerbaijan from the occupied territories are widely recognized and have been condemned by, among others, the United Nations Security Council."
"As for the problems with attracting tourists to and the overall economic stagnation in Armenia, it goes without saying that the soonest resolution of the protracted Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict will enable Armenia to open all communications with its neighbors, join regional integration efforts, steadily develop its economy and fully harness its tourism potential, and thus bring the long-desired prosperity to its population. Hence, for the sake of Armenia`s own future, it is high time for the country`s leadership to demonstrate statesmanship, and seriously and constructively engage itself in peace talks with Azerbaijan," the letter concludes.

AzerTAc