Trend:

Azerbaijan will take the appropriate measures against Armenia’s provocations, the press service of Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry told Trend April 23 commenting on the video footage distributed by the Armenian media about the alleged accumulation of the Azerbaijani army’s manpower and military equipment on the contact line between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.

“This video is another provocation,” the ministry said. “The montage video footage was captured from a long distance and from various angles during the redeployment of troops in the course of the Azerbaijani army’s exercises. The military-political regime of Armenia, seriously concerned about the massive unrest in their country, continues to keep the Armenian people in fear by spreading such information.”

Mass rallies broke out in Yerevan and other Armenian cities on April 13 following former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s nomination as prime minister. The opposition accuses him of ineffective governance and worsening the economic situation in the country.

Despite the protests, Armenia’s parliament elected Sargsyan as prime minister on April 17. On April 19, opposition members tried to disrupt the new Cabinet of Ministers’ meeting, blocking entrances to government facilities and marching down Yerevan streets. About 3,000 people took part in a rally in the evening. As many as 123 people were arrested over the day.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.