Despite calls made by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group for both sides to show restraint, Azerbaijan continues to violate the ceasefire and it even has encouraged causing physical harm to Armenian officials. My Step deputy Tatev Harutyunyan spoke with Aravot Daily about the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement and the Azeri MFA’s response. “This was just another show of aggression by Azerbaijan. I consider the statement made by the Azeri deputy where he encouraged people to physically harm Pashinyan and the Defense Minister to be dangerous. This is proof of the situation in Azerbaijan. They were angered by the controversy surrounding Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and they understood that the whole world considers them to be racists. Not only Armenians say this, but the international media does as well. Tensions rose and, sadly, we had a casualty at the border. They want to make the situation worse. We can see that clearly.”
Hayrapetyan does not believe that Baku will carry out humanitarian efforts after taking into consideration the response that such statements made by Mammadyarov get. “Their response to the warning made by the Armenian MFA is proof of the tense situation in Azerbaijan. Some political forces have tried to present that Aliyev wants to come to a compromise on the Artsakh conflict, which causes aggressive behavior.”
The Azeri MFA considered Armenia’s statement to be emotional, and implied that it shows the Armenian authorities’ response to internal politics. When asked what she thinks Azerbaijan means when it refers to internal politics, Tatev Hayrapetyan said, “I have difficulty answering that. Perhaps there is a difficult situation in their country, which causes them to make such statements. At the end of the day, it makes no sense for a country that is considered to have an authoritarian regime to give lessons on internal politics.”
Hripsime Jebejyan
