Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has stated that Armenia’s military provocation on the state border undermines regional peacebuilding efforts.

“At a time when Azerbaijan is taking steps towards the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia in a post-conflict period..., Armenia's continued provocative activities demonstrate the country's aggressive stance and undermine regional peacebuilding efforts,” the Foreign Ministry said.

It added that on December 8, 2021, Azerbaijani serviceman Asif Aliyev was killed as a result of Armenia’s continued provocations on the state border near Kalbajar region.

Moreover, on December 9-10, the Azerbaijani army thwarted another provocation committed by the Armenian military units intensively firing the Azerbaijani positions in Kalbajar from their combat positions located in Basarkechar region.

The ministry stressed that responsibility for the tension and bloody crime committed on the state border lies directly with Armenia’s military and political leadership.​

“The accusation of Azerbaijan by the Armenian Foreign Ministry of violating the sovereign territories of this country is completely unfounded. In order to prevent such false accusations, Azerbaijan supports the start of negotiations on the delimitation of the border between the two countries as soon as possible,” the ministry said.

It was emphasized that Armenia must take real steps to normalize relations and end imitations to achieve peace and stability in the region.

“We call on the Armenian side to refrain from attempts to obstruct the peacebuilding process, purposefully creating deliberate tensions in the region, and to fully implement the trilateral statements in accordance with the obligations assumed,” the ministry stressed.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that Armenia usually makes provocations before the announced talks and that this is not accidental.

"This shows that the Armenian political leadership did not completely abandon its provocative policy," the minister added.

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