Details added (first version posted on 11:56)
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 4
Trend:
There is a reason behind frequent provocations of the Armenian authorities, Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administration’s foreign relations department, told reporters March 4 in Baku.
“For now, I wouldn’t want to say anything about that. We should wait for a while,” said the top official.
“During the meetings held in Vienna and St. Petersburg last year, halting of such provocative steps, that is, maintaining stability on the line of contact, was put forward as the main principle,” he said.
“Nevertheless, the fact that Armenia takes these steps shows that they have an insidious plan. Therefore, we need to wait for a while," added Mammadov.
The situation has recently escalated on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops due to the provocations of the Armenian side and has resulted in casualties.
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.