Chairman of the Romania-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group Varujan Vosganian and deputy of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of Romania representing the Union of Armenians of Romania Varuzhan Pambukchyan have issued a statement condemning the recent actions of Azerbaijan. The statement has been published in the Romanian-language Araratonline magazine and reads as follows:

“On July 12, Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime, starting with military escalation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and in the direction of the Tavush Province of the Republic of Armenia. Through these actions, Azerbaijan has applied aggression against the interstate border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, not Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), by attacking the Armenian armed forces. Starting on July 13-14, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have been targeting peaceful Armenian settlements far from the line of contact, including the city of Berd and nearby villages. The intensity of use of artillery and unmanned aerial vehicles and the number of infantry are unprecedented. These provocative actions of Azerbaijan directly contradict the call of the United Nations Secretary-General to declare a global ceasefire during the coronavirus pandemic and show the belligerence and destructive actions of Azerbaijan.

Running counter to the call of the international community for restraint, once again, Turkey expressed an extremely aggressive and biased position. In its statement issued hours after the incident, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its unconditional support to Azerbaijan and fired groundless allegations against Armenia. This goes to show that Turkey can’t play any role in the international efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and first and foremost within the scope of the talks under the auspices of the OSCE. We, the undersigned, strictly condemn Azerbaijan’s ceasefire violation and the assaults against the territory of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the attacks on Armenian settlements and the civilian population.”