YEREVAN. – The Republic of Armenia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (RA MFA) issued a statement in connection with the Azerbaijani armed forces’ diversionary infiltration attempt Thursday, at the border.
“We condemn in the strongest terms today’s diversionary incursion attempt by Azerbaijan on the state border with Armenia, which resulted in human loses. We express our deepest condolences to the relatives and fellow servicemen of the fallen soldiers.
“While the most serious damage caused to the settlement process in the result of the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) this April has not been overcome yet, Baku embarks on a new adventurism grossly violating the agreements reached at the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits and the commitment to settle the issue through peaceful means. This is how Baku responds to the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries who urged in Hamburg to adhere strictly to the 1994/95 ceasefire agreements.
“On numerous occasions the international community, via the Co-Chairs, has called to maintain the ceasefire, especially during the holidays. By undertaking military diversionary incursion on the Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Baku acts against the universal human values.
“The international community, first and foremost the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, should take immediate steps to sober up the Azerbaijani leadership, who has lost the sense of reality, ignores and opposes with defiance to their calls and demands,” reads the Armenia MFA statement.
Azerbaijani troops launched a diversionary infiltration attempt, on early Thursday morning, at the RA state border, southeast of Chinari village in Tavush Province.
Artsrun Hovhannisyan, Spokesperson of the RA Minister of Defense, had informed that the Armenian armed forces entered into a battle with the adversary.
“Snipers’ and grenade launchers’ fires are shot, which continue,” he noted. “The RA Armed Forces fully control the situation by preventing the encroachment of the adversary.”
The adversary was driven back, having suffered injuries and casualties, including in the Armenian military positions, informed the Ministry of Defense (MOD).
“The RA Ministry of Defense possesses of irrefutable evidence of RA state border violation by the Azerbaijani side,” reads the MOD statement. “The military and political leadership of Azerbaijan bears the full accountability for the provocation that took place.”
As a result of this infiltration attempt, however, the Armenian armed forces suffered three casualties: Senior Lieutenant Shavarsh Melikyan, and Privates Edgar Narayan and Erik Abovyan.
