YEREVAN. - Azerbaijan is exacerbating the situation on the Line of Contact ahead of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs'  arrival to show that this conflict is not frozen.  

Head of Modus Vivendi analytical center, Ara Papian, told the aforementioned to Armenian News – NEWS.am, commenting on the recent diversionary attempts of the Azerbaijani armed forces, which were successfully prevented by the Armenian side.

''Firstly, Azerbaijan is afraid of the perception that this conflict is frozen. Secondly, it was relatively calm from April till now: shots were fired but no active diversionary attempts were initiated. I think this was more due to the domestic political situation in Azerbaijan. As you know, Aliyev was busy with constitutional amendments: he was deciding issues of hereditary rule. And in that situation, the exacerbation of the situation was apparently unfavorable to him. Now everything has ended and he is again proceeding with his former policy,'' Papian noted.

According to the expert, the diversionary attempts cannot turn into a large-scale attack. He is sure that Azerbaijan will not initiate this now, since the weather is unfavorbale. ''Azerbaijan is the attacking side and it is very important that its armored vehicles be mobile. But the weather conditions are unfavorable now.  One shouldn't forget that we are the defending side and we need mobility for  the movement of troop and ammunition, while Azerbaijan needs that also for the offense,'' Papian noted.