Aliyev at a meeting with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs accused Armenia of provocations on contact line of Karabakh-Azerbaijani troops
ArmInfo.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at a meeting with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group accused Armenia of provocations on the contact line of the Karabakh- Azerbaijani troops.
"After your visit to Armenia and the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as well as on the eve of the arrival in Azerbaijan on the contact line of the troops, Armenia launched another provocation against Azerbaijan, as a result of which our serviceman died. The Azerbaijani army, as always, gave an adequate response, the result of which you are aware. This is not surprising for me, because the Armenian side always carries out similar provocations before an important event or your visit, as we witnessed several times - in 2014, 2016 and today. They certainly know that we will give an adequate response to any military provocation against the peaceful Azerbaijani population and our servicemen," Aliyev said, APA reports.
At the same time, he shifted responsibility for the incident to the leadership of Armenia. "The Azerbaijani side observes the cease-fire regime. The events clearly showed that Armenia tries at all costs to interfere with the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. Armenia wants to focus the attention of the mediators only on security issues, and uses what is happening as a pretext to accuse Azerbaijan of violating the ceasefire," Aliyev summed up.
To note, the mediators are on a visit to Baku. They have already met with the President of Azerbaijan and the Minister of Defense. Last week, the mediators also visited Yerevan and Stepanakert, where they also held a series of meetings. It is assumed that, following the results of the regional visit, the mediators will make a statement. It is noteworthy that on the eve of the visit of the mediators in Baku the situation on the Karabakh-Azerbaijani contact line has sharply escalated. The NKR lost 4 servicemen, 2 more were injured in various degrees. The Armenian side immediately issued a statement, stressing that all responsibility for the escalation in the conflict zone lies with Baku, as the initiator of violation of the ceasefire regime.