Baku, Azerbaijan, April 3
By Samir Ali - Trend:
Armenians have always resorted to provocations against Azerbaijan and continue the policy, Bakhtiyar Aliyev, Azerbaijani MP, told Trend April 2.
He said that whenever at the international events Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stresses the importance of the negotiations for achieving peace, Armenia resorts to such provocations.
"The recent provocation against Azerbaijan is an extremely brazen action," the MP said.
"Armenians fired on Azerbaijani civilians and then they began accusing Azerbaijan."
"Unfortunately, certain forces supporting Armenia's position also had an influence," he said. "I think that Azerbaijan must thoroughly inform the whole world and all international organizations about this provocation and urge to take serious measures against Armenia."
The counter-attack was made following provocations of the Armenian armed forces on the morning of April 2, which resulted in deaths and injuries of civilians.
Six Armenian tanks, 15 gun mounts and reinforced engineering structures have been destroyed and more than 100 servicemen of the Armenian armed forces were wounded and killed during the fights, the ministry said.
Twelve servicemen of the Azerbaijani armed forces heroically died, one Mi-24 helicopter was shot down and one tank damaged by a mine, according to the ministry.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.