Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure are yet another war crimes committed by Armenia, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said during the phone conversation with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on October 28.

The minister briefed high representative on the latest gross violation of humanitarian ceasefire by Armenian armed forces, targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructures, using cluster munitions to inflict excessive casualties among peaceful population.

Moreover, the minister noted the deliberate killing of civilians in Barda city by missile attacks on October 27-28 by Armenia’s forces, stressing that Armenian leadership bears full responsibility for these heinous crimes.

In turn, Josep Borrell expressed his regret on the shelling the civilians and emphasized that targeting civilians is inadmissible. In addition, he noted the necessity of restoring dialogue between the sides for ensuring the peaceful statement of the conflict.

The Armenian attack on civilians was also discussed during the phone conversation between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Deputy Secretary of State of the U.S. Stephen Biegun, Minister for European Neighborhood and the Americas of the United Kingdom Wendy Morton and Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis.

During the phone conversations, the minister noted that innocent civilians, including children and women of the cities situated far away from the conflict zone, have been repeatedly attacked by the Armenian armed forces after the Washington meeting and on the eve of intended Geneva talks.

Bayramov underlined that Armenia grossly violates the agreed ceasefire for the third time, as well as the international humanitarian law.

In turn, Ignazio Cassis reiterated the position of Switzerland on supporting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and noted the readiness of his country in case if there is a role to play in the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Stephen Biegun and Wendy Morton expressed serious concern over the civilian casualties, and noted the inadmissibility of attacks against civilians, stressing the importance of decreasing tensions in the region.

Armenian armed forces launched a large-scale operation in the front-line zone on September 27 at 6 am, shelling the positions of the Azerbaijani army from large-calibre weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibres. Armenia has been targeting Azerbaijan’s densely populated areas and infrastructure projects.

Starting from September 27, Armenia launched a missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities and regions - Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi, Absheron, Tartar, Gabala, Kurdamir, Siyazan, Goranboy, Aghdam among others.

Additionally, Armenia targeted Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Novorossiysk pipelines and Oghuz- Gabala-Baku water pipeline.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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