BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 24
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
Armenia tries to pose threat to Azerbaijan’s strategic energy projects, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev told CTV News Channel, Canada, Trend reports.
He was commenting on the recent provocation staged by Armenia in the direction of Tovuz district on the border with Azerbaijan.
“Recently, we’ve seen yet another escalation in the border area between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces used heavy artillery shelling Azerbaijani positions and there were casualties among the Azerbaijani military. In the meantime, Armenian side in an indiscriminate and deliberate manner attacked Azerbaijani civilians. Currently, we have de-escalation of the situation, but it’s a major question to Armenian side, because Armenia has started this military provocation,” he said.
Hajiyev noted that Armenia’s intention is to create a new hotbed of a conflict in the border of two countries.
“In the meantime, one of the strategic goals that they try to reach is to pose threat to the East-West Corridor, as well as strategic energy projects of Azerbaijan. Any time this provocation can happen from Armenian side, because physically, we have fact of military occupation and aggression in the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. Hundreds of thousands of Armenian troops in the territory of Azerbaijan. Another question is that in the 21st century in the OSCE area, one OSCE member country occupies sovereign territories of another country,” noted the presidential assistant.
He pointed out that unfortunately, Armenia tries to propagate another picture of the realities on the ground, but reality speaks for itself.
“Armenia has occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan doesn’t have any strategic military objectives or purposes in the border area of two countries. Azerbaijan by all means tries to ensure peace, security and calmness in this area and also to resolve the conflict in a peaceful manner within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, also as demanded by the UN Security Council resolutions,” added Hajiyev.