MFA: Armenia deliberately kills Azerbaijani civilians

By Azernews

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

The deliberate killing of the Azerbaijani civilians throughout the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the essence of the actions of the Armenian Armed Forces, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva stated on October 3.

She was commenting on the October 2 killing of an Azerbaijani civilian in Gazakh region as a result of the targeted fire opened by Armenian armed forces.

"The Armenian Armed Forces committed another provocation by shelling an excavator that was building a road in the direction of Gazakh’s Gushchu Ayrim village near the line of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border on October 2, 2019,” Abdullayeva stated.

The driver of the excavator, Safarali Abyshov, who was also a civilian was killed as a result of the shelling, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Armenia’s shelling was suppressed by return fire.

The MFA spokesperson cited the Khojaly genocide of 1992 and the further targeted killing of small children living along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the line of contact between the troops as an evidence of Armenia’s policy to target civilians.

She further emphasized that frequent ceasefire violation in the line of contact along with belligerent rhetoric by the Armenian leadership, confirm that Armenia’s actions are fundamentally contrary to the interests of the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"They are in no way consistent with the spirit and the recent statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on September 25, 2019, which unequivocally calls for reducing tension and ensuring an atmosphere that contributes to the advancement of the peace process and is favorable for substantive negotiations,” she mentioned.

Abdullayeva also expressed regret that the policy pursued by the Armenian authorities is aimed at escalating the tension as opposed to achieving peace and security in the region.