STEPANAKERT. – Distorting the reality and attributing one’s own atrocities to the other side is the long-familiar practice of the Azerbaijani propaganda machine. Press service of the Republic of Artsakh Ministry of Defense (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic MOD) has noted this in a statement.

“The Azerbaijani propaganda machine is disseminating on the internet the photos of [Armenian] conscript, Private Arayik Ghazaryan, who has appeared on the Azerbaijani side, on August 12 of this year, under yet unknown circumstances,” the statement also reads. “It is noted [by Azerbaijan] that the soldier has left the place of his [military] service because of non-statutory relations, while the minor scratches and scars on the body of Private Ghazaryan are presented as evidence of violence committed against him.

“Press service of the AR [Artsakh Republic] MOD urges not to believe in the Azerbaijani side’s false allegations, which are aimed solely at belittling the image of Armenian soldiers, and to await the conclusion of the ongoing investigation, whose results will be accessible to the public.”