Lavrov: Armenia's decision to revive checkpoint 15 km from Azeri pipelines caused border escalationAugust 21, 2020 - 11:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The decision of the Armenian side to revive an old border checkpoint, located 15 km from the Azerbaijani export pipelines, caused an escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said in an interview with Trud newspaper. According to him, a complex of reasons led to the conflict, including "overheating of the public space" on both sides of the border. "The geographical factor also served as a kind of trigger: the decision of the Armenian side to revive an old border checkpoint located 15 km from the Azerbaijani export pipelines caused anxiety among some, an unreasonable response from others and, a flywheel of confrontation with the most unpredictable consequences began as a result," Lavrov said. Lavrov noted that the border conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in mid-July was the second large-scale violation of the 1994 ceasefire agreement. The Russian foreign policy chief reminded that for the first time in the past 26 years clashes involving field artillery, mortars and attack drones took place not on the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh, but on the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to Lavrov, Russia and her partners in the OSCE Minsk Group are working on the earliest resumption of negotiations on the Karabakh settlement. The situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated on July 12, with Azerbaijan launching several unsuccessful infiltration attempts throughout the next week. The Azerbaijani military also used artillery and combat drones to target civilian homes in several border settlements in Armenia. Five servicemen of the Armenian army were killed, while Azerbaijan reported 12 deaths. In recent weeks, though, the situation has been relatively calm. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” Ex-President: Only removal of “defeatist” rulers can save Armenia Former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. |