YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Azerbaijan accused Armenia of “imitating” peace talks and continuing to foment “separatism” in Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday following Armenian claims that it is planning another war in the conflict zone.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and two top aides to President Ilham Aliyev made the accusations during an extraordinary meeting with Baku-based ambassadors of foreign states.
An Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry statement cited them as saying that Yerevan is not honoring Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements reached after the 2020 war in Karabakh.
“Armenia’s goal is to sustain separatism in the territory of Azerbaijan with all possible ideological, political, military, financial and other means. In this way, Armenia is trying to gain time and avoid real steps that can ensure progress in all areas of negotiations,” they said, according to the statement.
The Azerbaijani officials also alleged that the Armenian side has stepped up “military provocations.” They went on to condemn as “extremely provocative” the election of Karabakh’s new president by local lawmakers scheduled for Saturday.
The Armenian government said earlier this week that Azerbaijan has been massing troops along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Karabakh “line of contact” in possible preparation for offensive military operations. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan urged the international community to take “very serious measures” to thwart Baku’s alleged plans.
Officials from the Armenian Defense Ministry on Friday again met with Yerevan-based foreign military attaches to brief them on the situation along the volatile border. According to a ministry statement, they said the situation remains “tense” because of the Azerbaijani military buildup. Armenian army units are therefore “continuing to take necessary actions to stabilize it and prevent provocations,” added the statement.
Karabakh’s army said on Tuesday that “large numbers” of Azerbaijani soldiers and military hardware are massing at various sections of the line of contact. It released purported videos of the troop movements. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said afterwards that its troops are simply engaging in routine training.
