Foreign media
Austrian Press Agency (APA), a leading Austrian news agency, has published an article on Armenia’s recent provocations against Azerbaijan.
The article presented by Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Austria points out that the 30-year-long conflict has resulted in the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories and the expulsion of more than a million Azerbaijanis from their native lands.
It is noted that Armenia’s non-constructive position in the negotiation process mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group hinders attempts to find a political solution to the conflict. Despite this, the international community does not recognize Armenia as an aggressor state and does not put pressure on this country to implement relevant resolutions and decisions of the UN and other international organizations. It has been repeatedly stated that the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan and the presence of its troops in the occupied Azerbaijani lands are the biggest threat to regional peace and stability.
The military and political leadership of Armenia has repeatedly made statements threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, declared Nagorno-Karabakh as the territory of Armenia, and demanded a change in the format of negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. Moreover, the Armenian side regularly fires at residential areas from the occupied Azerbaijani territories and commits provocations. The last such provocation was committed in the direction of Tovuz region in July.
It is emphasized that as a continuation of these provocations, on September 27, the Armenian army fired at Azerbaijan’s military provocations and residential settlements in all directions of the front using heavy artillery. Guided by Article 51 of the UN Charter, the Azerbaijani side was forced to use the right of self-defense in order to protect its military positions, settlements, civilian population and infrastructure and launched a counteroffensive operation.
The article also states that the Azerbaijan Armed Forces, which have achieved success on the front in recent days, target only the military facilities of the other side.
As for the allegations of the involvement of mercenaries by Azerbaijan, the article points out that Azerbaijan, with a population of 10 million, has a strong army and tens of thousands of reserve forces. Therefore, Azerbaijan does not need any military support from abroad.
The article concludes that the political and military leadership of Armenia is fully responsible for the current situation and further escalation.