We strongly condemn the flagrant violation of the ceasefire by the Azerbaijani armed forces on on the South-Eastern border of the Republic of Armenia, which resulted in the death of Armenian soldier Davi Vahan Vardanyan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said, commenting on the case of an Armenian serviceman killed as a result of yesterday's shelling by the Azerbaijani armed forces.
It is notable that this provocation was preceded by destructive, bellicose statements of the President of Azerbaijan of 27 May which included insults to the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.
Since May 2021, the Azerbaijani armed forces have illegally encroached upon the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia in the Sotq-Khoznavar segment, occupying over 45 square kilometers of territory.
Similar provocations and incidents, both on 28 May and earlier, regular violations of the ceasefire once again substantiate the need for the withdrawal of troops from the borderline and the deployment of an observer mission, as the Armenian side has repeatedly stated.
Also considering the fact that the Security Commission on Border Demarcation and Delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan has already started its work, this incident should be duly investigated and assessed by the Commission.
At the same time, we recall the consequences of the previous gross violation of the statement of 9 November 2020, as a result of which the Azerbaijani Armed Forces invaded the village of Parukh in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is within the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping mission, have still not been eliminated.
We consider important the proper and targeted assessment by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, the European Union and the entire international community of Azerbaijan's provocative actions and statements, aggressive rhetoric aimed at breaking the efforts to achieve peace in the South Caucasus.
We urge the Azerbaijani leadership to refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric and fulfill its commitments on establishing security and stability in the region, taken on the basis of trilateral statements and meetings in Brussels," the statement from the Armenian Foreign Ministry reads.