BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 11
Trend:
The night of Oct 10-11, Armenia has subjected Ganja to missile fire, and if Armenia continues to do this, then in accordance with international law Azerbaijan will take retaliatory measures, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said, Trend reports.
Hajiyev made the statement during a briefing held on Oct. 11.
He said that Ganja is far from the line of contact, and Armenia has subjected the city to missile fire from the Vardenis region.
"Ganja is a densely populated city. As a result of the shelling, many people were killed and injured. Armenia used the 'Tochka-U' missile system in the attack. The missile fired from this complex has tremendous destructive power. The shelling of a densely populated territory using such missiles was carried out precisely to kill many people. Armenia is shelling our cities from installations such as Smerch, Skad," said Hajiyev.
"At the same time, Armenia shelled the industrial city of Mingachevir, using "Smerch". This contradicts the agreement on a humanitarian truce reached in Moscow. Azerbaijan strictly observes the requirements humanitarian ceasefire, but Armenia is committing acts of vandalism against the civilian population. International organizations must exert political pressure on Armenia. Weapons continue to be transported to Armenia - both from the "black market" and using civil aircraft. This is completely contradicts to the international civil aviation standards," Hajiyev stressed.
He also notes that Azerbaijan has demonstrated its commitment to the settlement of the issue within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.
“But, unfortunately, Armenia, violating the agreement reached, fired at the civilian population of Azerbaijan. Armenia itself admits that by attacking the civilian population, it pursues certain goals. Armenia is shelling settlements both near the contact line and 100 kilometers from the zone, and If Armenia continues these actions, Azerbaijan will retaliate in accordance with international law. But we are fighting the armed forces of Armenia. Our goal is not the civilian population. The military should fight on the battlefield, not wage a war against the civilian population," Hajiyev said.