Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 1
By Samir Ali – Trend:
Armenia is trying to disrupt the negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by regularly committing provocations on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, Azerbaijani MP Rauf Aliyev told Trend.
“By such actions, Armenia violates the international law,” he said. “However, nowadays, Azerbaijan has strong army and is able to prevent any provocation of Armenia. Today, the Azerbaijani army is ready not only to suppress provocations, but also to start large-scale military actions.”
The MP noted that the political regime, which is in power in Armenia, is collapsing and losing its credibility.
“By committing such provocations, the Armenian authorities are trying to regain their lost credibility, but they won’t succeed,” he added.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry has earlier said the Armenian army attempted to infiltrate through the Azerbaijani positions along the line of contact on the night from Feb. 24 to Feb. 25. The Armenian side attempted to seize favorable positions on the Khojavand-Fuzuli part of the frontline, said the ministry, adding heavy battles took place between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.
“Azerbaijani military units courageously prevented the attacks and the Armenian side was forced to retreat,” according to the Defense 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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.