BAKU, November 9. /TASS/. Armenia is seeking to escalate the situation in the region and discredit the activities of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leila Abdullayeva said on Tuesday, commenting on the Armenian foreign ministry’s statement following an armed incident near the city of Shusha.
"The Armenian foreign ministry has neither political, nor legal, nor moral right to make any statements about developments on Azerbaijan’s territory. As for the incident, it was yet another provocation of the Armenian side," Abdullayeva said in a statement.
On Monday, Armenian media reported about an armed incident near the city of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to Armenpress agency, "civilians conducting works on a water pipeline at a crossroads near the city of Shusha came under shelling by the Azerbaijani side." As a result, one person was killed and three more received gun wounds.
According to the Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesperson, the Armenian side notifies Russian peacekeepers about any works near Shusha and such works are to be conducted in the presence of peacekeepers. "This time, no one informed the Russian peacekeepers and they were not present during the ‘works.’ Naturally, it gives grounds to questions," she noted.
She recalled that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other officials took part in an event in Shusha. "Naturally, security measures are enhanced on such occasions. Bearing this in mind, it is absolutely illogical to organize any repair works on the adjacent territory," she stated.
She also recalled that Armenia’s defense minister made a trip to Karabakh a day before and described it as "another provocation."
"The above-mentioned episodes demonstrate that the Armenian side is deliberately escalating the situation. And the fact that these actions were taken ahead of the anniversary of the signing of the trilateral statement on ceasefire reveals Yerevan’s attempt to discredit the activities of Russian peacekeepers," she added.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. Under the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor that connects Armenia with the enclave to exercise control of the ceasefire observance. Apart from that, several districts came over to Baku’s control.