ArmInfo.On March 25 Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.
As then press service of the RA MFA reports, during the meeting, Ararat Mirzoyan touched upon the Azerbaijani invasion in Nagorno-Karabakh which was launched on March 24 in the area of responsibility of the peacekeeping troops of the Russian Federation - the village of Parukh, the Azerbaijani actions deliberately disrupting the normal operation of vital infrastructure, and other steps aimed at ethnic cleansing. The need for the return of Azerbaijani units to the starting positions of March 23 was stressed. Ararat Mirzoyan presented the position of the Armenian side on the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the peace agreement, underscoring in that context the mediating role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.
It should be noted yesterday, the Artsakh Information Center reported that the units of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, grossly violating the November 10 trilateral statement of 2020 invaded the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping troops in the Artsakh Republic, taking control of the village of Parukh of Askeran region and adjacent positions, and then tried to advance on the eastern border of the Artsakh Republic. The hours-long negotiations held by the Russian peacekeeping troops and relevant structures of Artsakh did not have tangible effect, the enemy did not return to the starting positions. Moreover, the Azerbaijani military units opened fire on the Defense Army units using both firearms of various calibers and a strike UAV. At least 5 servicemen of the enemy were killed as a result of the skirmish. There is one wounded from the Armenian side. As of 9 AM the situation is relatively stable. We anticipate that the Russian peacekeeping troops will take measures to return the Azerbaijani units to their starting positions.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in this regard, and shifted all responsibility for the further development of the situation to the Russian peacekeepers. " We expect that the Russian peacekeeping forces in whose area of responsibility the provocation takes place will undertake measures to ensure that the Azerbaijani troops immediately return to their initial positions and adhere to the commitments undertaken under the November 9 Trilateral Statement.
We call on the international community to make a clear assessment of Azerbaijan's provocative actions aimed at undermining the peace process and to support efforts for establishing peace in the South Caucasus and achieving a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.
Today, the NKR Defense Army reported that at night the Azerbaijani Armed Forces provoked a shootout and used a strike UAV in Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result of these actions of the enemy, 5 servicemen of the Artsakh Defense Army were injured.