Armenia urges Azerbaijan to return to negotiations

PanARMENIAN.Net - Yerevan on Tuesday, February 13 called on Baku to return to negotiations – hours after the Azerbaijani military opened fire and killed four Armenian troops on the border.

“On February 13, another provocation and use of force by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the area of Nerkin Hand of Kapan Municipality, Syunik region, resulted in casualties of 4 killed and 1 wounded,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Despite the statement of the competent authorities of the Republic of Armenia on February 12 stating that the footage published by the Azerbaijani media on the same day and the information that the border guards of the Republic of Armenia wounded an Azerbaijani serviceman in the Kapan area were being investigated, the Azerbaijani side carried out aggressive actions on the morning of February 13. This indicates that Azerbaijan is looking for pretexts for escalation on the border.”

Yerevan said the use of force was preceded by bellicose statements by the military and political leadership of Azerbaijan, as well as information and propaganda preparatory activities in recent days.

“The leadership of Azerbaijan is constantly trying to disrupt the efforts of actors interested in stability and security in the South Caucasus to resume negotiations aimed at the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations,” the statement said.

“We strongly condemn these actions of Azerbaijan resorting to military provocations, we call to refrain from steps that destabilize the situation and return to negotiations. Once again, we reaffirm the proposals previously voiced by the Armenian side to implement reliable measures aimed at increasing border security.”