Yerevan Says Baku’s Disinformation Covers Up its Ceasefire Violations

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the spread of false information by Azerbaijan over the situation on its shared borders with Armenia and Artsakh, saying Baku’s tactics are aimed at covering up or justifying its brazen violations of the ceasefire and international humanitarian law during the global crisis that has arisen because of the coronavirus pandemic.

”The systematic dissemination of disinformation by the Azerbaijani authorities concerning the situation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as well as on the line of contact between Artsakh and Azerbaijan is deplorable. It is aimed at covering up or justifying Azerbaijan’s own violations of the ceasefire and international humanitarian law,” Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan said in a statement.

“Just to recall, on March 30, a minor from the Voskevan village in the Tavush Province and two servicemen were wounded as a result of the ceasefire violation by the armed forces of Azerbaijan. It needs to be emphasized that during this military incident, the Azerbaijani armed units targeted the child within a civilian infrastructure, which is a clear violation of the international humanitarian law,” explained Naghdalyan.

“It is obvious that Azerbaijan is attempting to use the suspension of monitoring exercises by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office because of the spread of COVID-19, in order to violate the ceasefire regime and disseminate disinformation,” said Naghdalyan.

“We once again reiterate our commitment to respecting the calls of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the United Nations Secretary-General to strictly observe the ceasefire and refrain from any provocative action during this period,” explained Naghdalyan. “It should be noted that such developments particularly emphasize the importance of implementing the agreements on risk reduction and the establishment of effective international mechanisms to this end.”