It is important that the ceasefire signed in 1994 has practically been maintained up to the present day, but certain incidents do actually take place, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in an interview with Russia Today.

According to him, to avoid such incidents there were suggestions from the international community, the OSCE, the co-chairmen of the Minsk group, supported by Armenia, on undertaking measures to consolidate the ceasefire, pull out the snipers l from the line of contact and an offer to reach agreement on non-use of force.

“Unfortunately, Azerbaijan refuses to implement those proposals of the international community. That is the reason of numerous incidents, which happen from time to time at the contact line,” he mentioned.

Edward Nalbandian recalled that last June the meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place in Saint-Petersburg on the initiative of President Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev and was dedicated to the discussion of the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh, and immediately on the night after the meeting the Azeris carried out a provocation at the contact line. Five Armenian soldiers were killed. The person who killed those Armenians was awarded the title of national hero, a street and school were named in his honor, and a film about him was ordered.

“Stepping to the contact line and committing those murders he was killed too, while being on the Armenian side. After the Astrakhan meeting between the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, an agreement was reached to exchange the dead bodies and the so-called prisoners of war. The body of that man was given to the Azeri Party,” he stressed.

The Armenian Foreign Minister emphasized that despite the fact that it’s obvious that such an exchange could not be used for propaganda purposes, Azerbaijan made a celebration of the body’s returning, and the Azeri authorities set that young man as an example to all the youth saying that they should follow his example, calling him a shahid. It was not the first time that Azeri authorities tried to give a religious angle to such an event, including through the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

Commenting on Azerbaijan’s military rhetoric, Nalbandian stressed it’s dangerous, when someone declares, and does it daily, that one’s ready or getting ready to use force.

“I do not think there is a country which would share or support such a viewpoint. It’s clear that the use of force is not a way to resolve issues. That is way, the international community suggests the non-use of force and threat of force as one of the main principles as according to international law, threat of force is viewed as aggression. But unfortunately, in Azerbaijan, they think that they can continue to threaten with the use of force and renewal of hostilities. Evidently, they have forgotten how it began.  The conflict started when they used force against Nagorno-Karabakh, started a large-scale military action. What’s more, they hired mercenaries with close links to international terrorist organizations. You see what it has led to! They must have forgotten what it has led to. Evidently, human memory is short,” he said.