Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry has accused Armenia of heightening tension on the contact line of the two countries’ troops and attempts to disrupt talks on settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The ministry’s spokesman, Eldar Sabiroghlu, said in a statement that Armenia tries to derail negotiations by provocations either before or after every round of talks. He said that amid the meeting held by the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi on Saturday, Armenia’s armed forces violated the ceasefire that is in place between the two countries in ten locations of the frontline, firing upon Azerbaijani positions from submachine guns and other large caliber weapons.

"It would be naive to think that all this is happening by accident," said the statement issued on Wednesday. "The role of the Armenian government and military leadership is undeniable here. Everything is done directly on their orders. This is evident, we are not saying anything new here."

Sabiroghlu noted that the countries seeking a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh dispute, in particular, those co-chairing the mediating OSCE Minsk Group, should take into consideration Yerevan’s non-constructive actions. "Otherwise, everything could change in an instant, and countering this would be extremely difficult."

Armenian troops on Tuesday opened fire from their positions in an occupied village of Azerbaijan’s frontline Aghdam region, killing a child living in another village. Nine-year-old Fariz Badalov was shot dead by a sniper while playing in the courtyard. The boy, who was shot in the head, was rushed to a hospital but his life could not be saved.

According to Sabiroghlu, Azerbaijani armed forces did not retaliate to avoid exacerbating tension on the frontline. "Azerbaijan did so in order not to defy the commitments it has just signed for. But the child killers must know that these atrocities have a dire outcome every time."

Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan and their Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev issued a joint statement after talks in Sochi stating their intention to "resolve all controversial issues by peaceful means". They agreed to investigate skirmishes along the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops that killed more than 20 soldiers last year, under the auspices of the OSCE mediators. The presidents also agreed to swiftly finalize the exchange of prisoners of war.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a brutal war that ended with the signing of a fragile cease-fire in 1994. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since the war. Peace talks, brokered by the Minsk Group co-chairs - the United States, Russia and France - have largely accomplished no result so far.

The status of the Nagorno Karabakh region has been a stumbling block in peace talks. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and Azerbaijani refugees returned home, and only after that could the status of Nagorno Karabakh be determined within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, while Armenia insists that self-determination is the core principle for a settlement of the dispute. The mediators are seeking a solution based simultaneously on both principles.