Armenia Foils Azeri Attempt to Violate State Border Near Nakhichevan

“Azerbaijan is the most interested party in the speediest negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”.

An Azerbaijani military subdivision attempted to violate Armenia’s western border from Nakhichevan on Thursday night but had to retreat after a skirmish with Armenian armed forces. He pointed out that the major cause of those incidents is the continuing unlawful presence of the Armenian armed forces in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

Karabakh defense troops continue controlling the situation on the contact line with Azerbaijan.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan echoed that language in a statement on Saturday.

Condemning the killings, the minister said that Azerbaijan reacted to the expectations voiced by the co-chairs for successful negotiations between Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in New York by undertaking this new provocation.

According to the results of the APA’s monitoring based on the reports confirmed by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the enemy forces, using 60mm- and 82mm-caliber mortars and heavy machine guns, made several attempts to commit provocative acts.

They also called on both countries to “accept an OSCE mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations”. The tensions escalated in February 1988, after the predominantly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region announced its secession from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.