Azerbaijani MFA: Armenia wants to cast shadow on Russian peacekeepers' activities

Armenia wants to cast a shadow on the activities of the Russian peacekeepers, the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said, commenting the statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry on the incident near the city of Shusha.

According to Abdullayeva, the Armenian Foreign Ministry has no political, legal or moral grounds to make any statements in connection with the territories of Azerbaijan.

"As for this incident, it is the result of yet another provocation of the Armenian side. Thus, in the statements of the Armenian side it is noted that these persons allegedly acted on November 8 with the aim of repairing the water pipeline near the Khankendi-Shusha road. I would like to note that usually before carrying out any activity on this territory, Russian peacekeepers are informed about this, and this activity is carried with observance of the peacekeepers," the spokesperson said.

“This time, the Russian peacekeepers were not informed and did not participate. This, of course, raises serious questions. In addition, on that date, an event was held in the city of Shusha with the participation of the president of Azerbaijan and government officials. In such cases, enhanced security measures are taken on the territory. Knowing this, doing any repairs to the water supply system near this territory does not fit into any logic," Abdullayeva said.

At the same time, she stressed that the illegal visit of the Armenian Defense Minister to the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is another provocative act of the Armenian side.

"All this testifies to the fact that the Armenian side deliberately pursues the goal of aggravating the situation. And the fact that these steps were taken on the eve of the first anniversary of the signing of the trilateral statement serves the purpose of casting a shadow on the activities of the Russian peacekeepers, and in general, this is a violation of the provisions of the trilateral statement," the head of the press service concluded.