On 10 March, a Armenian serviceman was killed at the border with Azerbaijan, reported arka.am.
The Ministry of Defence press office said that the incident occurred in the afternoon at the southwestern border with Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan region and that 26-year-old contract soldier Zohrab Sianosyan was fatally wounded in the chest after a shot fired from Azerbaijani military positions.
“This is yet another attempt [by] Azerbaijan to intentionally escalate the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border: on March 6 Azerbaijani armed forces attempted an infiltration in Tavush region of Armenia. Regular attempts by Azerbaijan to escalate the situation on the state border with Armenia, to expand the geography of escalation and refrain from applying the existing mechanisms of de-escalation attest to the deliberate nature of Azerbaijan’s attempts to undermine regional security and peace,“ read the statement of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the incident occurred.
The Azerbaijani MFA responded to the statement. “These statements are made by the Republic of Armenia, which is responsible for the killings, in recent weeks, of the Azerbaijani border guards protecting the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. Once again, we bring to the attention of the Armenian side that the current status-quo established as a result of the use of force and ethnic cleansing, is in no way connected with the concept of security. The occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the presence of the Armenian armed forces on these territories are the source of the main threat to the security of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has always advocated the universality and indivisibility of the concept of security. The withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as well as the further cohabitation of the Armenian and Azerbaijani population of the region in the conditions of peace and the rule of law, are the determinants of building trust and rapprochement in the name of ensuring the region’s common security and prosperity,” said the spokesperson of the Azerbaijani MFA Leyla Abdullayeva.
The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan re-emerged on 6 March after a longer period without incidents (Caucasus Watch reported).
