According to the Armenian president, Baku’s policy is aimed at escalation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).
According to the Defense Ministry of the unrecognized republic, on the night of 21 December, Azerbaijani servicemen fired over 900 shots at NKR positions.
For the north and north-east direction, Azerbaijan used TR-107 (8 rounds), mortars of the caliber 60 mm and 82 mm (16 rounds), grenade launchers “LNG-9” and “STS-17”, the Armenian site news.am reports.
Every time the Azerbaijani armed forces use small arms of all calibers, mortars and artillery against the Republic of Armenia, they shoot at Astana, Dushanbe and Bishkek, Moscow and Minsk. This statement was made by the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan during a session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Moscow on December 21.
“Let me remind you that we have the relevant article in the Charter. And if we do not use this article, do not review the existing situation, if we do not consider it necessary to pick up the phone and ask what’s going on in the Armenian ally, but also vote against the interests of the ally in the international organizations, pass bilateral declarations with third countries, the text of which is directed against members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, we simply put our entire organization, its prestige, its importance under fire,” said the head of Armenia.
According to Serzh Sargsyan, Azerbaijan’s policy is aimed at escalation of the conflict. On December 8, the armed forces of Azerbaijan, for the first time since the establishment of the ceasefire in 1994, used tank and howitzer shelling.
“Given the tense atmosphere in the region, that became so in recent years, there is a possibility that this step was done by Azerbaijan was prompted and supported by the outside force,” said Serzh Sargsyan.
On December 7, the Internet video appeared showing the shelling of military targets in Azerbaijan (not a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization), reports report.az, citing the Ministry of Defense. According to the Azerbaijani military establishment, firing from mortars was conducted from the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, “occupied” by Armenia (CSTO member).
The Karabakh conflict is an ethnic conflict between Azerbaijanis and Armenians, which has deep historical and cultural roots. During the perestroika years, against the background of a sharp rise in national movements in Armenia and Azerbaijan, it moved into the phase of the armed conflict (1987-1988). On May 5, 1994, the Bishkek Protocol was signed leading to the armistice and cease-fire between Armenia and the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on the one hand and Azerbaijan on the other.
