Baku, Azerbaijan, July 5
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
Baku has repeatedly stated that the presence of Armenia’s Armed Forces in the Azerbaijani occupied territories is the main reason for the escalation of the situation in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the main obstacle for its political settlement, Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev said.
He made the remarks July 5 in Baku at a joint briefing of official representatives of the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan, commenting on the latest developments on the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.
On July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers shelled the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli district.
As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sakhiba Guliyeva (born in 1967) and Zakhra Guliyeva (born in 2015) were killed. Servinaz Guliyeva (born in 1965), who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.
Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk and his assistants are currently inspecting the shelling site, Hajiyev said, adding that the OSCE should understand that these actions of Armenia are aimed at disrupting the negotiation process.
Hajiyev noted that Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry instructed all embassies and diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan abroad to inform all countries they are accredited in about the Armenian provocation and to bring the truth to their attention.
He also noted that Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry expects serious reaction from the OSCE Minsk Group to the recent provocation on the contact line between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.
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.