RA MFA: Azerbaijan openly took responsibility for aggression

On September 19, Azerbaijan unleashed another large-scale aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, seeking to complete the policy of ethnic cleansing, the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.

“Guided by a sense of impunity, Azerbaijan openly took responsibility for the aggression. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan announced that it was launching ‘anti-terrorist operation’ in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping troops, which, according to the official statement of the Azerbaijani side, was reported to the command of the Russian peacekeeping troops, as well as the Russian-Turkish monitoring center.

We strongly condemn Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and the massacre that occurred exactly three years ago, in 2020. This is a continuation of the large-scale use of force unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh in September. Civilian settlements, the city of Stepanakert, and other towns and villages are being shelled by Azerbaijan under the false pretext of ‘destroying military facilities.’

The Armenian side has repeatedly warned that Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggressive actions against Nagorno-Karabakh, bellicose rhetoric, absolutely false and reprehensible propaganda of calling the population of Nagorno-Karabakh ‘terrorists’ pursue one goal: to subjugate the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, to carry out ethnic cleansing with the use of force, to deprive the population of Nagorno-Karabakh of freedom and the right to live and create with dignity. The same goal is pursued by the illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, and the complete blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh since December 2020.

Among other things, the attack was preceded by the dissemination of misinformation by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry about sabotage operations, which proves that the attack was planned.

We declare once again that the armed forces and military equipment of the Republic of Armenia are not deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, all news about mine and sabotage operations are false and fabricated.

We appeal to international partners, members of the UN Security Council, who bear primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, including the 2020 agreement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. Based on the trilateral agreement of November 9, the Russian peacekeeping troops in Nagorno-Karabakh will take clear and unambiguous steps to stop the aggression of Azerbaijan.”