BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 19. The command of Russian peacekeepers in Azerbaijan's Karabakh is in close touch with Armenian representatives in Karabakh and Azerbaijani officials, Russia's Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports.
"We are deeply alarmed by the sharp escalation of the situation in Karabakh," the ministry said.
On September 19, a vehicle belonging to Azerbaijan State Agency for Automobile Roads exploded hitting a land mine previously planted by the reconnaissance-subversion groups of Armenia’s armed forces in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, with the purposes of committing terror act, on the Ahmadbayli-Fuzuli-Shusha Road that killed two civilians. The same day, the explosion of vehicle carrying the military personnel of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the mine, installed by the reconnaissance-subversion groups of Armenia’s armed forces led to fatalities and injuries among our military servicemen. Such facts are the testimony to the ongoing deliberate and planned policy of terror by Armenia against Azerbaijan.
"The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that contrary to the provisions of the Trilateral Statement signed on 10 November 2020, the continued presence of Armenia’s armed forces formations in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is the source of grave threat to regional peace and stability.
Therefore, local anti-terrorist activities have been launched to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, suppress large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region, to disarm and secure the withdrawal of formations of Armenia’s armed forces from our territories, neutralize their military infrastructure, provide the safety of the civilian population returned to the territories liberated from occupation, the civilians involved in construction and restoration work and our military personnel, and ultimately restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
As part of the measures, positions on the front line and in-depth, long-term firing points of the formations of Armenia’s armed forces, as well as combat assets and military facilities are incapacitated using high-precision weapons.
We reiterate that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure facilities are not targeted. Only legitimate military targets are being incapacitated.
The command of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Turkish-Russian Monitoring Center are informed about the ongoing activities," the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan said.