BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 28
Trend:
The aggressive and provocative policy of Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has made the resumption of the war with Azerbaijan inevitable, Azerbaijani MP, military expert Arzu Naghiyev said in an interview to the correspondent of Russia's Vestnik Kavkaza Information-Analytical Agency on September 28, Trend reports.
“The inadequate statements of the Armenian leadership that Karabakh is Armenia, as well as the illegal resettlement of mercenaries from the Middle East to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, couldn’t help but lead to a war,” he said. “Moreover, in recent months, Yerevan deliberately held unauthorized events there several times, which inflamed emotions of the Azerbaijani people, thereby provoking an escalation of the conflict,” he reminded.
"Unlike the July battles on the border of Azerbaijan and Armenia, today Armenian troops launched an armed attack from the occupied territories along the entire perimeter,” the MP noted. “As a result, now they are receiving a worthy response, and the operation will be continued further. Seven villages have already been liberated and the Murovdagh peak. A large amount of military equipment and manpower of the Armenian armed forces has been destroyed.”
“Undoubtedly, one of the reasons for the current escalation may be the big economic and social problems recently faced by Armenia. Against this background, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan tried to play the Karabakh card in order to divert the attention of the population from the problems,” the expert also noted. “This was aggravated by difficulties with mobilization and conscription into the army. To cover up this failure, the Armenian leadership undertook such a provocation.”
The MP stressed that all regional players clearly understand that Azerbaijan isn’t waging a war on the territory of Armenia.
"Azerbaijan has the right to liberate its territories, to conduct a counter-operation on them. We only want this - the liberation of our lands - and don’t violate international rules and laws. We exerted efforts to liberate the lands peacefully, within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and through the UN, but they were disrupted by Armenia, which is also seen by all countries mediating for the settlement of the conflict, "concluded Naghiyev.
The Armenian armed forces committed a large-scale provocation, subjecting the positions of the Azerbaijani army to intensive shelling from large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibers in the front-line zone on Sept. 27 at 06:00 (GMT+4).
The command of the Azerbaijani Army decided to launch a counter-offensive operation of Azerbaijani troops along the entire front to suppress the combat activity of the Armenian armed forces and ensure the safety of the civilian population.
Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov said Sept. 27, 2020, that Garakhanbeyli, Garvend, Kend Horadiz, Yukhari Abdulrahmanli villages of Fizuli district, Boyuk Marjanli, and Nuzgar villages of Jabrayil district were liberated.
Moreover, the positions of the Armenian armed forces were destroyed in the direction of the Aghdara district and Murovdag, important heights were taken under control by the Azerbaijani army.
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, 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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.