Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 30
Trend:
Azerbaijani serviceman Elshan Ismayilov was killed during the clashes on the line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, the Azerbaijani defense ministry said Nov. 30.
This serviceman became a martyr as a result of another provocation of Armenians.
The serviceman is awarded with the medal "For Distinction in Military Service" of the third degree (posthumously) upon Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov's order.
The Azerbaijani defense ministry said that the Armenian military and political leadership is to blame for the aggravation of the situation on the line of contact.
"This bloody provocation will not remain unanswered," the statement said.
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 the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.