By shelling Azerbaijani cities, the Armenian Armed Forces directly violate international law, former U.S. Assistant Secretary for the South Caucasus, former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza told Vestnik Kavkaza, commenting Armenian army's missile attacks on Ganja, Mingachevir, Terter, Beylagan, Barda, Khizi and Absheron district.
"According to international law, indiscriminate military attacks on civilians are illegal of course. It’s not to say they don’t happen. I mean they do happen and generally go unpunished. But they are not legal," the U.S. diplomat said in the first place.
"And I think what’s happening now is that the Armenian side senses that Azerbaijan’s military offensive is proceeding effectively in a careful way. And Armenia is looking for a way to try to stop that offensive by frightening the people of Azerbaijan, the civilians and thereby weakening a resolve to keep up the fight," the former U.S. Assistant Secretary for the South Caucasus explained.
"And also I fear that Armenia might be trying to convince Azerbaijan to retaliate in kinds, in other words by attacking civilians in Armenia. And whether Azerbaijan to do that then Armenia could invoke the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s treaty and call for Russia and other CSTO members to get involved on the Armenian side. So far it seems to me Azerbaijan understands this risk of possibly responding by attacks on civilians of its own which would have this negative consequence. So it’s important that Azerbaijan continue to show the restraint that it has shown so far," Matthew Bryza stressed.
"Armenia is losing the war against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is pushing forward, regaining Azerbaijani territory whether it would be Jabrail or Fizuli on in the north of the conflict zone. And it’s going to continue pushing forward unless it stopped by the Armenian side. So the war is continuing," the former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan concluded.
The Armenian armed forces committed a large-scale provocation, subjecting the positions of the Azerbaijani army to intensive shelling from large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibers in the front-line zone on Sept. 27 at 05:00 (Msk). The command of the Azerbaijani Army decided to launch a counter-offensive operation of Azerbaijani troops along the entire front to suppress the combat activity of the Armenian armed forces and ensure the safety of the civilian population. Thirteen villages of Fizuli and Jabrayil districts, Sugovushan (formerly Madagiz) and Talysh villages, as well as Murovdag were liberated.
