Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of aggression against "Karabakh"

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement in response to Azerbaijan's outbreak of hostilities in unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh, accusing Baku of conducting ethnic cleansing.

This was stated in the ministry's statement.

The ministry said that "on September 19, Azerbaijan launched another large-scale aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in order to complete the policy of ethnic cleansing."

"We strongly condemn Azerbaijan's aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and the massive crime that took place exactly three years ago, in 2020... Civilian settlements, the city of Stepanakert (Azerbaijani name Khankendi - Ed.), other cities, and villages are being shelled by Azerbaijan under the empty pretext of "destroying military facilities," the statement said.

Yerevan says it has repeatedly warned that "Azerbaijan's continuous aggressive actions against Nagorno-Karabakh, undisguised bellicose rhetoric, absolutely false and condemnable propaganda calling the population of Nagorno-Karabakh 'terrorists' pursue one goal: to subjugate the population of Nagorno-Karabakh."

The ministry noted that the outbreak of hostilities was preceded by the dissemination of "false information" by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry about mining and sabotage activities, "which indicates that the attack was planned and the information field was provided."

"We reiterate that the Armed Forces and military equipment of the Republic of Armenia are not deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, all news about mining and sabotage operations are false and fabricated," the statement reads.

Author - Olena Madiak, 19/09/2023