BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 20. Azerbaijan's local anti-terrorist activities are not a war against Armenia but are aimed at Armenian illegal armed groups located on Azerbaijani territory [which haven't been withdrawn contrary to the trilateral statement signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war] and menacing its territorial integrity, the Dean of the Faculty of Turkic World Economics at UNEC (Azerbaijani State University of Economy) and professor at Uludag University, Mehmet Yuce told Trend.
He noted that these illegal formations, numbering around 10,000 people and financed by Armenia, pose a threat to the security of people in the region, including Armenian civilians, and commit crimes against Azerbaijan.
"Due to this, Azerbaijan launched local anti-terrorist activities to restore constitutional order and ensure the safety of the civilian population in the region, including its Armenian citizens. Azerbaijan is waging this fight on its own land. Therefore, naturally, like other countries, Azerbaijan does not tolerate terrorist activities on its territory," the professor said.
According to him, these anti-terrorist activities launched by Azerbaijan in accordance with international law are aimed at preventing large-scale provocations expected from Armenian armed forces in the Karabakh region, ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, disarming and removing Armenian illegal armed groups from the region, and neutralizing their military infrastructure.
"Azerbaijan will stop the anti-terrorist activities in Karabakh after withdrawing the Armenian illegal armed groups from the region, Yuce added. Начало формы
In order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, to stop large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region, to disarm and withdraw formations of the Armenian armed forces from the territories of Azerbaijan, to neutralize their military infrastructure, to ensure the safety of the peaceful population returning to the territories liberated from occupation, civil servants involved in construction and reconstruction works, and our military personnel, as well as to restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan, anti-terrorist measures have been launched in the region.
Only military targets belonging to illegal armed formations of the separatist regime are put out of action with the use of high-precision weapons available in the arsenal of the Azerbaijani Army.
Civilians and infrastructure objects are not targets during localized anti-terrorist activities carried out in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region.