BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 17. Armenia must renounce claims against Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien within the framework of the Munich Security Conference, Trend reports via the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan.
"Bayramov stressed that Armenia’s provocation, which led to the injury of an Azerbaijani soldier as a result of a sniper shot without any motivating factors after five months of stability, is aimed at undermining the peace process," the ministry said.
"Regarding the draft peace agreement, existing claims against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country were once again mentioned in the legislative acts and constitution of Armenia, international organizations and courts, and the importance of abandoning these claims was emphasized," added the ministry.
On February 12, in the vicinity of Azerbaijan's Zangilan district along the Azerbaijan-Armenia conventional border, gunfire erupted from the positions held by the Armenian Armed Forces located in Nerkin-And settlement of the Gafan district, targeting the positions of the Border Guards of the State Border Service (SBS) of Azerbaijan in Kollugishlaq village of the Zangilan district.
As a consequence of the incident, soldier Parviz Khalilzade, a servicemen of the SBS, was injured. The military serviceman was evacuated to a specialized medical facility via helicopter.
On February 12, at 20:50 and at 23:40 (GMT +4), the Armenian army units from the positions in the direction of Chinarli settlement of the Tovuzgala region using small arms subjected to fire the Azerbaijan Army positions stationed in the direction of Kokhanabi settlement of the Tovuz district.
In response to this provocation of the Armenian army the units of the SBS of Azerbaijan carried out the "Revenge" operation on February 13.
According to the SBS, the operation resulted in the complete destruction of the Armenian Armed Forces' combat post near the Nerkin-And settlement of Gafan district, from where the Azerbaijani Army positions were fired the day before.
"There have been reports of substantial personnel losses at the damaged combat position. Any provocations by the Armenian side aimed at escalating tensions along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border will now be met with even more serious and decisive reactions. The military-political leadership of Armenia bears full responsibility for these developments," said SBS statement.
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel