ARMENIA BLAMES CEASEFIRE BREACHES ON TOUGH AZERI RHETORIC

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
posted on March 13 2006

Baku, March 10, AssA-Irada
Armenia blames the recent violations of ceasefire on the frontline
on Azeri officials’ tough statements, which included warnings that
the country may resort to military action to solve over a decade-long
dispute over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh.

Armenian deputy defense minister Artur Agabekian maintained that the
national army soldiers being inspired by President Ilham Aliyev’s
statements have been allegedly subjecting Armenians to intense
shooting.

“The reasons for ceasefire breaches by Azeri military men is official
Baku’s statements,” he said, claiming that this disrupts the “relative
stability” observed before.

The Armenian official recalled that since a ceasefire was reached in1
1994, it has been repeatedly infringed upon on the frontline and this
mainly happens when the sides “alter their positions”.

Agabekian said the sides [troops] “have drawn closer to each other”
in the past years, and as a result, any mistake leads to human
casualties. He also noted that the war has claimed lives.

“Every Armenian soldier knows that he should always be prepared for
military action,” Agabekian added.