Armenia has no plans to withdraw lawsuits against Azerbaijan in international courts - expert

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YEREVAN, 18 September. /ARKA/. Armenia currently has no plans to withdraw lawsuits filed against Azerbaijan in international courts, Armenia's representative on international legal issues Yeghishe Kirakosyan said.br/pp ‘Legal processes are ongoing and we are awaiting the decisions of the courts. International legal processes can never be opposed to peace,’ Kirakosyan said Wednesday during a panel discussion at the Second World Armenian Summit in Yerevan./pp

According to him, any attempt that tries to oppose international legal processes to peace or a settlement process is artificial./pp ‘It is not accidental that such opposition comes from Azerbaijan... I believe that the voicing of such an idea by Azerbaijan speaks volumes. It shows that this country is concerned about legal processes,’ Kirakosyan said./pp

He said the decisions (of international courts) and the ongoing legal processes have a very important impact on Azerbaijan's behaviour as a country./pp ‘Continuing the process is important; it is part of the peace process, because in terms of the long-term peace, legal processes play a key role. The legal process itself is not only a process initiated to restore violated rights, but specifically in interstate cases it is also a ‘war’ of narratives,’ Kirakosyan noted./pp ‘A large number of these narratives that Azerbaijan has been spreading for decades are being refuted during this trial,’ Kirakosyan said./pp

Armenia's lawsuit is pending before the UN International Criminal Court (ICC) demanding the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination by Azerbaijan due to years of state-level propaganda of hatred and Armenophobia./pp

In addition, 4 inter-state complaints against Azerbaijan are pending on behalf of Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) - in connection with crimes in the 44-day war in Artsakh (September-November 2020); illegal trials of captured Armenians in Azerbaijan; armed attacks and occupation of sovereign Armenian territory by Azerbaijani Armed Forces (May 2021. - November 2022); blockade of the Lachin corridor (December 2022-September 2023) and violation of the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. -0-/pp nbsp;/p