YEREVAN. – Escalation on the border with Armenia that was provoked by Azerbaijan is absolutely unacceptable, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in an interview with public television.

“Armenia and Artsakh are ready to defend and they do it on their own. At the same time Armenia is a member of CSTO with ensuing circumstances. In particular, there is a statutory obligation to provide assistance to each other. We informed the member countries of the situation. The application of the relevant provisions of the charter will be in force when we insist,” he explained.

According to earlier reports, Armenia has informed OSCE and CSTO, but has not petitioned for help. CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov issued a statement on Friday calling to stop the shelling.

Azerbaijani side has been shelling the Armenian settlements and the positions of the Armenian armed forces for several weeks. One serviceman was killed and a village was injured in the Azerbaijani fire.