An Armenian soldier, 19-year-old Artur Agababyan, was killed by the enemy on the line of contact between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces, March 10. The incident occurred near the village of Kuropatkino, at 6:20 p.m. local time.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army issued a statement, saying:

The recent frequency of ceasefire violations on the line of contact between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces suggests that the Azerbaijani side is not only honoring the agreement of confidence building reached at the Sochin meeting on March 5, but is also heightening tension on the front line by its aggressive actions.

As prime mover in ceasefire violations (which caused the death of the Armenian soldier Grigor Shahkyan in the sector of Verin Chailu, just a few hours before the Sochi meeting), official Baku, by means of its propaganda, is trying to deceive the international community and present the Armenian side as an aggressor. Striking evidence thereof is the Azeri media reports that the Armenian forces` actions March 8 allegedly caused the death of Fariz Badalov, a minor from the village of Orta Karvend, Aghdam region, says the statement.

To find out the details of the incident, the OSCE mission, under a preliminary agreement with the NKR authorities, intended to conduct monitoring of the scene. However, for unknown reasons, at Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk`s suggestion the Azeri side, in contrast to the Nagorno-Karabakh side, did not bring the monitoring mission to the previously agreed point during the monitoring in the direction of Askeran. As a result, the monitoring missions had to conduct monitoring from a distance. This is one more proof of Azerbaijani side`s attempt to conceal the details of the incident.

Moreover, on the monitoring day, the Azerbaijani side did not create favorable conditions for the OSCE monitoring mission to accomplish its task. Furthermore, in al the other sectors of the front line the Azeri side, following its practice, committed a number of ceasefire violations. As a result, a few hours after the monitoring, the Armenian soldier, 19-year-old Artur Agababyan, was killed by the enemy on the line of contact between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces, near the village of Kuropatkino, at 6:20 p.m. local time, March 10.

This and other facts are irrefutable evidence that, in contrast to the Armenian side, which is consistent in honoring the agreement reached at the trilateral meeting in Sochi, March 5, Azerbaijan goes on impeding the peace process by resorting to provocations.

The conclusion to be drawn from the above is as follows: either the Azerbaijani army is out of control or its aggressive actions are ordered by the superiors. As regards the rest conclusions, it is up to the international agencies dealing with the peace process to make them, the statement says.