An Azerbaijani task force’s intrusion into the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was not a mere coincidence - it was aimed at testing reaction of Armenia and of the world community if Baku resumes hostilities, the head of Heritage parliamentary group Stepan Safaryan told journalists on Tuesday.

According to him, Azerbaijan’s attack was an attempt to test the patience of Armenia and of the international community. “The address to the conflicting parties by the international community, particularly by the OSCE Minsk Group, calling on them to maintain the ceasefire established in 1994, is unacceptable, as the Minsk Group seems to share the guilt between both sides thus enabling Azerbaijan to launch larger-scale actions,” Safaryan said.

The international community’s lacking the backbone must serve as a basis for the Armenian side to resort to an exclusively political response, but never to a military one, he said.

He also noted that Ilham Aliyev could not have been unaware of the organized attack and bears responsibility. Azerbaijan is still sure of its “muscles,” he said.

As to the Armenian army fighting capacity, Safaryan noted that the Armenian army is stronger than Azerbaijan’s. 

On June 18, an Azeri reconnaissance detachment intruded into Nagorno-Karabakh, killing 4 Armenian soldiers and wounding 4 others. As a result of an encounter, the Azeris retreated, leaving one soldier killed.