Azerbaijan began anti-terrorist measures in Nagorno-Karabakh with the aim of restoring the constitutional order.
The press service of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan informed about this on September 19.
What’s happening in Karabakh
The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan says that anti-terrorist measures have been launched in Karabakh in order to ensure the implementation of the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, suppress large-scale provocations, disarmament and withdrawal of formations of the Armenian Armed Forces from Azerbaijani territories and restore the constitutional order of Azerbaijan.
It is noted that the positions of the Armenian armed forces are being disabled and that civilian infrastructure and the population are not targets.
Yerevan denies the presence of personnel or military equipment of its armed forces in the region.
Baku states that the command of the Russian peacekeeping forces and the leadership of the Russian-Turkish monitoring center were informed about the operation.
The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, confirmed that Moscow was receiving information from Baku, but denied the message that the Russian peacekeeping contingent had been warned about the operation.
The Armenian Ministry of Defense claims a relatively calm situation on the border, but residents of Stepanakert report shelling.
In April, Azerbaijan established a checkpoint on the border with Armenia at the beginning of the road in the Lachin corridor leading to Stepanakert, citing security threats due to the misuse of the said road by the Armenian side.
Yerevan then announced a gross violation by Baku of the tripartite statement of November 2020, emphasizing that the blocking of the Lachin corridor provoked a humanitarian catastrophe in the region.
In May, the head of the Armenian government, Nikol Pashinyan, announced the recognition of the sovereignty of Azerbaijan along with the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In August, Pashinyan, in an interview with the Italian publication Repubblica, said that Russian peacekeeping forces were not fulfilling their assigned mission in Karabakh and that Russia itself was leaving the region. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the rhetoric of the Armenian Prime Minister unacceptable.
