Azerbaijan's provocations are aimed at further escalating the situation on the border, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday, May 27, hours after six servicemen were surrounded and captured by Azerbaijanis in the province of Gegharkunik.
"These provocative actions by the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan are aimed at further aggravating the situation, which could seriously undermine regional peace and stability," the Foreign Ministry said.
"We strongly condemn the use of force by the Azerbaijani side against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia, and emphasize that the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan bears the responsibility for all the actions of the Azerbaijani armed forces and its consequences."
The Foreign Ministry said the captured Armenian servicemen must be returned immediately and unconditionally.
*** On the morning of May 12, the armed forces of Azerbaijan violated the border of Armenia in the southern province of Syunik, advancing 3.5 kilometers and surrounding Sev Lake, which is situated on the border between the two countries but is predominantly a part of Armenia. On May 13, the Azerbaijani military committed more border violations against Armenia, advancing near Vardenis (Gegharkunik province) and Sisian (Syunik province). One Armenian serviceman was killed in Azerbaijan’s shooting on May 25.
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Months after a ceasefire ended the bloody Nagorno-Karabakh war, Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of staging incursions beyond their bitterly contested frontiers, after six Armenian soldiers were detained on Thursday.
ReplyDeleteThe Azerbaijani defense ministry issued a statement alleging that “on May 27, at about 03:00, a reconnaissance and sabotage group of the armed forces of Armenia made an attempt to cross the ... state border.” Officials allege that the six men captured were attempting to lay mines and disrupt supply routes in what it described as a “terrorist” act.
However, later on Thursday, Armenia’s acting prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, insisted the soldiers had been abducted from within the country’s own territory. “Our servicemen carried out work on the arrangement of the border with Azerbaijan [and] … on mining, with the installation of warning signs. There was no purpose of sabotage," he said.
The Armenian foreign ministry added that “the provocative actions of the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan are aimed at further aggravating the situation, which could seriously undermine regional peace and stability.”
However, Azerbaijan has similarly accused its neighbor of violating the terms of the Moscow-brokered trilateral agreement, which had put a pause on the fierce fighting that claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers on both sides during the brief Nagorno-Karabakh war....rt