BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 19. The biggest provocation is from the Armenian side which is that its troops are apparently still on Azerbaijani territory, in Karabakh, former U.S. Ambassador to the country Matthew Bryza told Trend, as he was commenting on the local anti-terrorist activities launched by Azerbaijan in Karabakh.
“One important lesson that I learned during my diplomatic career is when there are initial reports of weapons firing, military clashes, there are often many inaccuracies in those reports. So, I want to be careful about commenting now, but there are certain facts that are clear. Number one fact is that the government of Azerbaijan, the ministry of defense has put out a statement describing its intentions to carry out a limited, accurate set of military strikes against Armenian military forces that are illegally on Azerbaijan’s territory,” he said.
Bryza noted that he did see a video, apparently, from the ministry of defense, that shows one limited such strike.
“If indeed, what the Azerbaijani ministry of defense described as its intentions were is what actually happened, then of course, Azerbaijan is within its rights to defend its territory against an opposing military force from another country. Also, I understand that Azerbaijan’s government has said that civilians, I mean ethnic Armenians will be provided the safe way to move away from where the Armenian soldiers are. Presumably, they will be free to return their homes after the activities. That’s a very important factor, I hope is true as well. I also understand that the Azerbaijani government again has reiterated its intention to provide food to the ethnic Armenians still in Karabakh. If all that is true, Azerbaijan is within its rights to defense its territory, people. The biggest provocation is from the Armenian side which is that its troops are apparently still on Azerbaijani territory, in Karabakh. They were supposed to have withdrawn according to November 10, 2020 ceasefire statement and they must leave under the international law. Those Armenian soldiers must leave, the sooner they leave, the less military clashes will occur,” he added.
Additionally, Bryza pointed out that inevitably, of course, Azerbaijan will be subjected to intense criticism from the Armenian side and from those who are sympathetic to Armenia.
“That was the case during the Second Karabakh War when on the date when the ceasefire statement was signed, the French then foreign minister came out and said they essentially blame Azerbaijan for the war. So, Azerbaijan is of course should expect to face criticism, but again, if it follows those limited and professional objectives, as it is described in the defense ministry’s statement, I think the world will see that of course, Azerbaijan was justified in eliminating the threat of foreign military forces on its own soil,” he said.
Meanwhile, local anti-terrorist activities have been launched to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, suppress large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region, 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.