On June 19, at midnight an Azerbaijani reconnaissance detachment intruded into Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan near the village of Chalu, an NKR Defense Army operational report says. The trespasser Azerbaijanis could intrude the north-eastern section of the NKR-Azerbaijani contact line, killing 4 Armenian soldiers and wounding 4 others. The armed reconnaissance detachment encountered Armenian soldiers on duty. The Armenian side took retaliatory measures. The enemy retreated, leaving one soldier killed and ammunition. Among the four soldiers were Mnatsakan Gasparyan, Arayik Barseghyan, Edward Manoukyan, Paruyr Melkonyan. Among the wounded are Galust Badasyan, Andranik Arzumanyan, Harutyun Mesropyan. This incident occurred during the trilateral meeting of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Saint Petersburg. In the political circles opinions were heard that by this step Baku is trying to fail the negotiation process and show that if the negotiation doesn’t proceed on their behalf then the war may resume. RA President Serzh Sargsyan designated as a “mean provocation” an Azerbaijani reconnaissance detachment’s attempt to intrude into the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. “Provocations are unacceptable, and the recent mean provocation is unacceptable even more, as it came just hours after the meeting held under Russia’s mediation, President Sargsyan said. “It means the mediators should think over the situation, as provocations, going unpunished, not to say unanswered, will lead to such or even worse consequences. It is disrespect for the OSCE Minsk Group as well,” he said. The President also stressed that the Armenian side has no intention to revise its stance due to the provocation, “as we are consciously participating in the talks and keep on pursuing our objective.” RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan responded to an Azerbaijani reconnaissance detachment’s intrusion into the NKR territory. “After each high-level meeting Baku tries to fail negotiations by means of provocative statements and war threats. Likely, seeing they failed to do it, Azerbaijanis went further and resorted to obvious provocation immediately after the June 17 trilateral meeting. Hardly had the Azerbaijani leaders left the negotiating table when they organized provocation in Martakert region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, June 18-19 night. Treacherous attacks under cloud of night are a usual thing for Azerbaijan,” he said. “There are killed and injured as a result of provocation. The Karabakh armed forces repulsed the attack. Obviously, the actions were preplanned. It once again shows Baku’s true face, they do their utmost to fail the negotiation process,” FM stated. On June 18, at 11:30 p.m. an Azerbaijani reconnaissance detachment intruded into Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan, an NKR Defense Army operational report says. The trespasser Azerbaijanis could intrude into the north-eastern section of the NKR-Azerbaijani contact line, killing 4 Armenian soldiers and wounding 4 others, the NKR Defense Army press service reports. The armed reconnaissance detachment encountered Armenian soldiers on duty. The Armenian side took retaliatory measures. The enemy retreated, leaving one soldier killed and ammunition. “Any clashes in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict show that Azerbaijan will never reconcile with the “occupation of its territories”. There is a fairly simple way to avoid armed conflict. It is to sit down at the negotiating table and continue working on the basis of updated Madrid principles,” stated the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry official representative Elkhan Polukhov Azerbaijani Trend agency reports, commenting on statements by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan. “Mr Nalbandyan might have to touch upon the core of the sharp military confrontation instead of commenting on matters which are outside his competence, but the cause of which lies in the continuing occupation of Azerbaijani lands,” Polukhov said. According to him, the adoption and implementation of this document will allow avoiding this kind of cases that claim the lives of people. ‘Incidentally, this fact once again confirms that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not frozen, as the Armenian side would like to think,’ Polukhov said. According to the chair of the public council of the foreign policy and security Mailyan the fact that the incident occurred in the aftermath of the trilateral meeting cannot be considered a coincidence. “Although we should have noticed that recently after high-level meetings the tension on the border had been reducing. If this operation is not conducted by the military management of Azerbaijan and is provoked by Baku and the president specifically then we should noticed that this is an attempt of pressure over Armenia and an attempt on part of Azerbaijan to blackmail the co-chairs of the Minsk Group. And there is only one purpose to this – to lead and guide the negotiation process in Azerbaijan’s favor,” he says. Mr. Mailyan thinks that the OSCE should initiate international investigation and explore the incident. “And if it turns out that the incident was initiated because of the fault of Azerbaijan’s authorities then the international community should undertake certain steps against Azerbaijan,” says Mailyan. As a response to our question about the possible resumption of war, Mailyan said, “As long as the international community hasn’t recognized the independence of NKR and as long as the NKR hasn’t become a full and legitimate member of the negotiation process such developments cannot be excluded. Both the RA and NKR governments should actively work in this direction. So should do the Armenian Diaspora.” Is there a necessity for the Armenian side to revise its political course? Mailyan says, “I don’t think that the last Azerbaijani diversion may become a reason for the resumption of war or cause the suspension of the process. But this incident should make the OSCE co-chairs to put aside the Madrid Principles and develop a document on the refusal of using armed forces for both of the sides.” The Defense Army of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) claimed yesterday that Azerbaijani troops breached the ceasefire regime 284 ceasefire times by Azerbaijani side were registered on the contact line of NKR-Azerbaijani armed forces. Despite the claims of the international media outlets and the Azerbaijani ones the Armenian side had victims on June 21 With the NKR Defense Ministry press service informed that Karabakh side incurred no losses. According to NKR defense army operational report, Azerbaijani side fired at Karabakhi positions from different types of small arms, including sniper rifles in the directions of Horadiz, Ashag Veysali, Kuropatkino, Yusufjanlu, Kengerli, Bash Karvend, Shkhlar, Seysulan and Levonarkh. The Azerbaijani 1news.az website also alluded to the truce violation case of June 21. It wrote that as a result of the armed provocation instigated by the Armenian side an Azerbaijani soldier died. Referring to the defense ministry of Azerbaijan the website writes that the Armenian side violated the ceasefire and attacked their posts located in the vicinity of Ashagh Abdurahmanlu village. “The Azerbaijani side properly counterattacked the assaulting side, as a result of which the Armenian side had to yield with casualties.” The defense ministry of NKR in its yesterday’s statement reminds that during the June 17 trilateral meeting the president of Azerbaijan has expressed its willingness to continue the negotiations in a peaceful manner then it continues, “The defense ministry of the NKR once again reminds Baku that any attempt of violating the ceasefire will be given a relevant response on part of the Armenian side.”
