Armenia condemns the violation of ceasefire and the firing of the peaceful residencies by Azerbaijan through large-scale weapons, this having resulted in victims and two wounded civilians, Armenia’s envoy to OSCE Arman Kirakosyan said at the OSCE Standing Council session yesterday.  

In his speech, Kirakosyan referred to the recent exacerbation of the situation on the line of contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijan, as well as along the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border, Armenia’s MFA Information and Public Relations Department reports. 

Armenian Ambassador said that parallel with the exacerbation of situation in the conflict zone, Azerbaijan held large-scale military exercises, involving 65,000 staff, including 6000 reservists, hundreds of tanks, military vehicles, artillery and military aviation.    

Ambassador Karapetyan also said the Armenian side has expressed deep concern about the aforementioned provocative actions on the part of Azerbaijan, this increasing the military exacerbation in the region.

“By such steps Azerbaijan ignores the Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ urges addressed to Baku to commit to the ceasefire and refrain from exacerbating the situation,” Kirakosyan said.

He also said that by refusing the proposals of the international community to set up a mechanism for investigating the incidents, Azerbaijan holds responsibility for all the violations of the ceasefire.

Kirakosyan reaffirmed the principle stance of the Armenian side, namely that the precise commitment to maintaining ceasefire and enhancing trust is the only way to advance the peaceful process.