Armenia leveled an allegation on Thursday, September 7, against its long-standing adversary, Azerbaijan, asserting that Azerbaijan was making preparations for a “new military provocation” by amassing troops along their shared border and in proximity to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Armenia on Thursday accused arch-foe Azerbaijan of preparing a “fresh military provocation” by massing troops on their border and near the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The ex-Soviet republics have been locked in a decades-long conflict over the mostly Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh inside Azerbaijan which is controlled by separatists.
Tensions have escalated sharply in recent months as each accuses the other of cross-border attacks.
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan cancelled a planned visit to Cyprus “due to the escalation of the situation in Armenia,” his Cypriot counterpart Michalis Giorgallas wrote on social media.
The European Union monitoring mission deployed on the Armenian side of the border said it has “increased patrolling activity… to observe any military developments.”
Pashinyan’s claims came ahead of snap presidential elections in the separatist enclave on Saturday and days before joint drills between Armenian and US peacekeeping forces hosted by Yerevan.
The Kremlin on Thursday criticized the drills, saying they would harm stability in the volatile Caucasus region that Moscow sees as its backyard.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
