By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

Another attempt of Yerevan to flare the tension on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border against the background of its "peacekeeping" mission in Kazakhstan as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization forces has failed.

Armenia-committed provocations on the state border with Azerbaijan in the direction of liberated Kalbajar region on January 11 resulted in the killing of Azerbaijani serviceman Ayaz Nazarov. This bloody incident was followed by the further shelling of other Azerbaijani positions in Kalbajar and Tovuz regions on the night of January 11-12.

Any Armenian threat to be thwarted

In an interview with local TV channels on January 12, President Ilham Aliyev reiterated that any threat to Azerbaijani security will be foiled.

"I have sincerely and openly stated that if we see even the slightest threat to our security, we will immediately crush it no matter where it is and no matter how deep it is in the territory of Armenia. Everyone, first of all, the Armenian leadership should know and understand this," he said.

Commenting on the incident in Kalbajar, the president stated that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have taken decisive measures to punish the Armenian criminals.

"According to the information I received from the defence minister, six to eight enemy servicemen were killed and many others were wounded. Shortly after this incident, the Armenian side began to insistently request a ceasefire. However, they must understand that the death of an Azerbaijani serviceman will never be forgiven. Despite numerous requests from the Armenian side, I would even say pleas – since this incident took place not in the area of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers, but in the direction of Kalbajar – and also despite the requests of Russian peacekeepers, I ordered the defence minister at 2130 to cease fire and let the Armenian side collect their numerous wounded servicemen," Aliyev said.

Aliyev recalled that both this incident and all previous incidents ended in this way.

"Crimes, provocations, covert provocations [by Armenia], punitive measures by the Azerbaijani side, and then pleas for a ceasefire. As a result, Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated humanism, but only after we came to the conclusion that the punitive operation should be stopped," the head of state said.

Expert views

Commenting on the tension at the border, MP Aydin Huseynov described Armenia's military and political leadership as the real cause behind the recent provocations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

"Despite the heavy defeat in the 44-day second Karabakh war [from late September to early November 2020] and the signing of the surrender statement, Armenia is still trying to prove the existence of its army by committing various confrontations and provocations. Armenia is deliberately trying to aggravate the situation. Armenia, which has always pursued a policy of aggression, has never been a supporter of peace and stability," he said.

“As a result of Azerbaijan's victory in the 2020 Second Karabakh War, new realities and a new atmosphere of cooperation have emerged in the region. Opportunities have been created for the establishment of peace and stability and the opening of communications,” the MP reminded.

He stressed that the abovementioned issues were reflected in the statement of November 10, 2020, signed by the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders to end the second Karabakh war and other agreements were reached after that.

“However, by committing such provocations, Armenia, as always, shows that it doesn’t support peace and stability and cooperation. The Armenian side is trying to obstruct the implementation of these agreements, but it must not forget that whether Armenia wants it or not, those agreements will be implemented, and there is no other way," he said.

The MP also noted that Armenia, as always, doesn’t refuse the saboteur acts.

“But every time the Azerbaijani Army returns fire to Armenia,” Huseynov said. “The situation was the same this time. The Armenian army failed again and was forced to retreat by suffering losses.”

Azerbaijani MP Vugar Iskandarov told Trend that Armenia still does not want to make conclusions from these events.

“But those who live in this country having the pro-war rhetoric must know that terrorism and military provocations can have very bad consequences for Armenia itself . This provocation shows that this bad neighboring country has not given up its treacherous actions,” he said.

“According to the statement made by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, instead of taking steps to normalize relations between the two countries, the Armenian military and political leadership is directly responsible for the escalation of the situation in the region by committing another bloody provocation on the state border,” the MP stressed.

“I think that the international community must put pressure for Armenia to put an end to these provocative steps as soon as possible. Otherwise, Armenia will see Azerbaijan’s 'iron fist' again,” he said.

The MP also stressed that Armenia harms itself as a result of its own provocations.

“As is known, the 44-day second Karabakh war, which lasted from September 27 till November 10, 2020, resulted in a crushing defeat of Armenia and liberation of Azerbaijani lands from occupation,” Iskandarov said.

The MP said that after this war, there was the only chance for Armenia, the army of which was destroyed, to live and develop upon Azerbaijan’s instructions.

“One could think that the Armenian political leadership will finally come to its senses and will make correct decisions,” Iskandarov said. “But it seems that this country is still unable to give up its aggressive, provocative actions.”

The MP said that in any case, the regular violation of the ceasefire regime by Armenia on the border gives grounds to make such a statement.

“Apparently, the Armenian political and military leadership thinks that it will achieve something by violating the ceasefire regime on the border,” the MP added. “But the Armenian political and military leadership is wrong because this does not promise anything good to Armenia. On the contrary, if Armenia does not give up such provocative actions, it will face a worse situation,” he stressed.