There is almost a century's worth of conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, and tensions have increased in recent months after Baku unconquered the ethnic Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh, known to Armenians as Artsakh, following a lightning military offensive in September. (Related: U.S. must be careful in mediating Azerbaijan blockade of Armenian breakaway state – or be accused of complicity in genocide, experts caution.)
"Our analysis shows that Azerbaijan wants to launch military action in some parts of the border with the prospect of turning military escalation into a full-scale war against Armenia," said Pashinyan during a meeting of his government. "This intention can be read in all statements and actions of Azerbaijan."
"Azerbaijan continues to pursue a policy of 'give me what I want through negotiations, otherwise I will take it by war,'" added Pashinyan.
The Armenian government has urged Azerbaijan to refrain from "destabilizing actions." The statements by Pashinyan and the Armenian government come just two days after four Armenian soldiers were killed by Azerbaijani fire in the biggest skirmish since last year.
The Armenian Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement that four soldiers were killed and another wounded at a combat post in the southern province of Syunik. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry claimed in a statement that its attack on the Armenian position was retaliatory, due to an Armenian "provocation" that wounded one of its soldiers.
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Yerevan has denied this allegation, and Baku said it has no intention of further escalation.
"Azerbaijan is committed to the peace process, and calls on the Armenian side to refrain from military escalations that would jeopardize the efforts to that end," said the ministry in its statement.
In a statement, the Armenian Foreign Ministry alleged that this is part of Azerbaijan's continued attempts to look for a "pretext" to attack internationally recognized Armenian territory, accusing Baku of deliberately jeopardizing the process toward normalizing relations between the two nations.
"The Azerbaijani leadership is consistently trying to thwart the efforts of actors interested in the stability and security of the South Caucasus to resume negotiations aimed at resolving relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan," said the ministry.
Azerbaijan denies having claims to Armenian land
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who last month won re-election for a fifth consecutive term – in an election described by poll observers as "not competitive" and "held in a restrictive environment" – claimed that it was Armenia, not Azerbaijan, that had outstanding territorial claims on the other nation.
"We have no territorial claims to Armenia, and they should give up their claims. Talking to us in the language of blackmail will cost them dearly," threatened Aliyev, who added that peace can only be achieved if Armenia changes its constitution.
Aliyev's government asserts that the Armenian constitution contains "territorial claims against Azerbaijan," with portions of the constitution that allude to reunifying Armenia with the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Pashinyan responded by stating that Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of all neighboring countries, adding that it rejects any attempts by outsiders to change the country's internal legal system.
An analysis by CivilNet notes that, since 2020, Azerbaijani forces have occupied roughly 215 square kilometers (83 square miles) of internationally recognized Armenian land and continue to refuse to relinquish their control over this territory.
Watch this video of American vlogger Patrick Lancaster reporting from Yerevan about how Azerbaijan ethnically cleansed over 100,000 ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.
This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.
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