BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 29
Trend:
On September 29, Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her country’s concern over the armed clashes on the line of contact between Armenia and Azerbaijan and inquired about the course of events.
President Ilham Aliyev noted that in the morning of September 27, Armenia committed a military provocation against Azerbaijan and shelled military units, towns, and villages of Azerbaijan along the line of contact using heavy artillery, as a result of which Azerbaijani servicemen, 10 civilians, including two children were killed, 29 civilians were wounded, 150 houses were destroyed during two days. The head of state said the Azerbaijani side launched a counter-offensive operation.
The President noted that previously Armenia committed military provocations against Azerbaijan in July-August as well, killing Azerbaijani servicemen and civilians. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that these provocations were a continuation of Armenia's policy of aggression against Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani President noted that the Armenian Prime Minister’s statement "Karabakh is Armenia, full stop" made the negotiation process senseless and that the Armenian leadership`s demand that Azerbaijan negotiates with the self-styled "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" should be assessed as an attempt to change the format of negotiations. At the same time, the head of state said that the Armenian defense minister had threatened Azerbaijan with a new war for new territories, adding that this plan was being implemented in reality.
President Ilham Aliyev stressed that the military-political leadership of Armenia was responsible for further development of events in the wake of Armenia's military provocation, saying the Azerbaijani Army was fighting on its own land and the Armenian army should not be present on the Azerbaijani soil.
President Ilham Aliyev added that Armenia was conducting a policy of illegal settlement of foreign citizens in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which is a gross violation of international law under the Geneva Convention, adding that it is considered a war crime.
During the telephone conversation, the possibilities to restore the ceasefire and the negotiation process were discussed.