Armenia Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan issued the following statement regarding a BBC interview with Azerbaijani President Ilham Ali that appeared today.

"In this interview, Ilham Ali confirms that he has no justification for deliberately targeting the civilian population of Stepanakert, the civilian population of other peaceful settlements in Artsakh, but that targeting has been undeniably documented by many reputable international media outlets specializing in human rights.

“Realizing that he would sooner or later be held responsible for his war crimes, Ilham Ali has made a desperate attempt to deny the truth, calling it fake news.

"Ilham Ali's hateful statement, made against the backdrop of the ongoing targeting of Artsakh's civilian infrastructure by the armed forces under his command, once again proves that the people of Artsakh cannot, under any circumstances, be under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan."