The recognition of each other's territorial integrity by Armenia and Azerbaijan should in no way had violated the process of guaranteeing the security and rights of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was undermined by Azerbaijan's use of military aggression. Vahan Kostanyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, stated this in a briefing with reporters Friday.

He stressed that the aforesaid military aggression cannot and should not be justified in any way and by any side.

To the question of what will happen if several thousand Armenians decide to return to Nagorno-Karabakh, and whether this will be beneficial for the Armenian side or for foreigners, for example Russia, whether it will be a basis for the presence of peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, and will give Azerbaijan an opportunity to claim to the world that there is no Armenian ethnic cleansing in Karabakh, Kostanyan replied: "It is obvious that clear security and rights guarantees are necessary for the return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh because there is a question: why did people leave their homes, their homeland? They left as a result of the [military] aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan and, in fact, [Armenian] ethnic cleansing took place in Nagorno-Karabakh."

Kostanyan stressed that ensuring the right of return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh should be in the obligations of not only the government of Armenia, but also the international community in general and, in particular, the UN Security Council.