ArmInfo. ''After the lasting encroachments and illegal actions implemented against the borders and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, Azerbaijan turned to a new provocation to escalate the border situation'', the statement of the Armenian President Armen Sarkissian reads.
The President noted that in the border part of the RA Gegharkunik region, the Azerbaijani side fired at the Armenian armed forces. ''There is a victim from the Armenian side. I express my deep condolences to the family and relatives of the killed soldier.
I urge the relevant state structures to make every effort and take the strictest measures against the encroachments and border violations threatening the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia. Condemning Azerbaijan's provocative actions and the steps to aggravate the situation, at the same time, we call on the international community and all interested states to be most intolerant, and take tough measures to correspondingly assess and condemn Azerbaijan's provocations'', the President noted.
As ArmInfo previously reported, a contract serviceman of the Armenian Armed Forces, junior sergeant V. Khurshudyan was killed by an enemy bullet in the direction of Verin Shorzha of the Gegharkunik region of the Republic of Armenia. The RA Ministry of Defense reported that the enemy fired at the Armenian positions in the direction of Verin Shorzha on May 25 at around 2:20pm. "As a result of the ensuing firefight, a contract serviceman of the Armenian Armed Forces, junior sergeant V. Khurshudyan, born in 1989, was fatally wounded.
As usual, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan tried to shift all the blame onto the Armenian side, forgetting that they fired at the Armenian military on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. To note, on May 12 and 13, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces illegally entered the territory of the Republic of Armenia in the direction of Syunik and Gegharkunik, advanced 3.5 km and 2 km inland, respectively, deployed their units and refuse to leave the territory. In connection with the current situation, Armenia turned to the CSTO to assist in finding a solution to this issue. The question still remains unresolved. According to some estimates, more than 600 Azerbaijani military forces were stationed in the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia. On May 23, the RA Ministry of Defense reported that the Azerbaijani side had withdrawn a part of its military from the territory of Armenia.