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Azerbaijan Consulate General in Los-Angeles made a statement on violation of ceasefire

06 March 2008 09:58 (UTC +04:00)

Los Angeles. Husniyya Hasanova â€“APA Azerbaijan Consulate General in Los-Angeles made a statement on violation of ceasefire in frontline in these latter days. APA US Bureau was told in the Consulate, by violation of the ceasefire, Armenian leadership added both a military and regional dimension to an internal Armenian political crisis, the statement reads: â€œThe Armenian military launched an attack against the Republic of Azerbaijan. The attack came from Armenian positions based on internationally recognized occupied territories belonging to the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Terter Region. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces suppressed the attack suffering casualties and the death of three servicemen. According to the preliminary reports, the Armenian losses were greater as is expected on the attacking side. Senior Azerbaijani officials raised serious concerns with Armenian authoritiesâ€™ use of a military provocation, seemingly to distract attention from the deepening post-election crisis in Armenia. The recent presidential elections in Armenia sparked bloody protests and violent clashes between government security forces and civilian protesters, resulting in nearly a dozen reported deaths in the streets of the Armenian capital, Yerevanâ€. It was underlined in the statement that although Azerbaijan adheres to the policy of non-interference in its neighborsâ€™ domestic affairs, Armeniaâ€™s leaders have chosen to provoke a military confrontation with Azerbaijan as an instrument of their own domestic policy:â€ Such a use of military force for narrow political reasons is both cynical- given the human toll, predictable and overwhelmingly harmful to the region. Armeniaâ€™s actions reflect the deepening militarization of the Armenian political system. The Azerbaijani side has repeatedly highlighted the threat posed by aggressive separatism and ethnic militancy to regional peace and security in the South Caucasus. While the Azerbaijani Armed Forces stand ready to defend adequately to any provocation, the Republic of Azerbaijan is committed to reaching a long-overdue peaceful settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. The Republic of Azerbaijan also hopes that the Armenian politicians are able to find a way to address Armeniaâ€™s dire domestic political crisis without cynicism of artificial military confrontation with neighboring nations and without further threatening the regional stabilityâ€.