Armenia strongly condemns Azerbaijani ceasefire violations targeting country's north-east

Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned the recently reported ceasefire violations targeting the country's north-east.

In a statement released after midnight, it made a call upon Azerbaijan to refrain from provocative cross-border attacks, promising to demand responsibility for future actions from the country's politico-military leadership.

"We condemn in the strongest terms the ceasefire violations by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the direction of the Tavush region of the Republic of Armenia starting from the afternoon of July 12, accompanied by the attempts to infiltrate into Armenian positions with the use of artillery. As a result of the proportionate actions of the Armenian side, these provocative actions have been effectively suppressed.

"The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, in coordination with the Prime Minister of Armenia and the Minister of Defense, is in constant contact with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, presenting the situation on the ground and the consequences of further escalation.

"Recently, the Azerbaijani side, in contradiction to the calls of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to refrain from provocative actions and warmongering rhetoric, to strengthen the ceasefire, constantly resorts to the threats of use of force and military escalation. The political-military leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the consequences of the provocative action undertaken amid these threats," reads the statement.

The Ministry of Defense reported a border infiltration attempt by the Azerbajani armed forces at 12:30 local time. According to an official statement, Azerbaijani servicemen tried to cross into Tavush in a van. After a warning by the Armenian side, they returned to the starting positions, leaving the vehicle on Armenia's territory.

The adversary repeated the border transgression attempt at 1:45 am local time, opening fire in the same direction, but was subsequently suppressed and pushed back, suffering losses. Armenia reported no casualties.

The Ministry's spokesperson, Shushan Stepanyan, took to Facebook later to report a renewed attack from a 82-mm mine mortar and a tank against the same military position. Hours later, she said that the gunfire continued at different intensity levels, "with all the attempts  by the adversary being targeted and neutralized."

In another post late at night, Stepanyan said that the Armed Forces of Armenia had stopped firing in the direction of Azerbaijani settlements. "Only engineering infrastructure and military equipment is being targeted," she wrote.

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The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in 1988 when the Armenian majority of the then autonomous region declared its intention to break away from Azerbaijan. In a referendum held on December 10, 1991 (days before the collapse of the USSR), the population voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence (99.89%). The move was followed by Azerbaijan’s large-scale military operations against Nagorno-Karabakh and seven neighboring regions. The armed violence left around 25,000-30,000 people dead; thousands were internally displaced. The Ceasefire Accord, which went into effect in May 1994, formally put an end to the armed attacks in the conflict zone, but sporadic fighting in the area breaks out time and again. Since 1994, the OSCE Minsk Group, a mission co-chaired by France, the United States and Russia, has been spearheading the efforts towards  a peaceful solution to the conflict. .

The hostilities escalated to an unprecedented degree in April 2016 in what was later dubbed a Four-Day War. In the early hours of April 1, 2016, Azerbaijan's armed forces launched heavy offensives along the Line of Contact,  provoking large-scale confrontations with the Defense Army of Nagorno-Kkarabakh. The adversary also shelled civilian settlements, particularly the southern and north-eastern regions of Hadrut and Marakert.

A ceasefire was reached on 5 April between the chiefs of the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow. The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities also welcomed the verbal agreement.