BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 13
Trend:
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov held telephone conversations with co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group from Russian Federation Igor Popov and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-office Andrzej Kasprzyk on July 13, 2020, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
Mammadyarov informed his interlocutors on the current situation in the region after the recent attempt by the armed forces of Armenia to attack the Azerbaijani positions at the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border was prevented by retaliatory measures.
The Azerbaijani foreign minister expressed serious discontent and named this new provocation of Armenia as an act of aggression.
Mammadyarov said that this purposeful provocation by Armenia aims to involve the third states to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and divert the attention of the Armenian society from domestic problems.
Starting from July 12 afternoon, while grossly violating the ceasefire regime in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district on the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border, the Armenian armed forces fired at the Azerbaijani positions by using artillery.
As a result of the appropriate measures, the Armenian forces was struck back while suffering losses.
Azerbaijani personnel sergeant of military service Vugar Sadigov and corporal Elshad Mammadov died while repelling the attack of the Armenian armed forces.
Despite the efforts of the Azerbaijani doctors, severely wounded serviceman of the Azerbaijani army Khayyam Dashdemirov also died.
The tension remained in Tovuz district on the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border on July 12 night.
During the night battles, by using artillery, mortars and tanks, the Azerbaijani armed forces destroyed a stronghold, bombshells, vehicles and servicemen on the territory of the Armenia’s military unit.
Azerbaijani serviceman, senior lieutenant Rashad Mahmudov was killed during the battles.
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.
