ArmInfo.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia issued a harsh statement in connection with the murder of an Armenian contract serviceman Ashot Mikaelyan by an Azerbaijani sniper.
Thus, in a statement by the press secretary of the RA Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan, it is noted that as a result of Azerbaijan's deliberate violation of the ceasefire on July 27, an Armenian soldier was fatally wounded as a result of an enemy sniper's shot. At the same time, she expressed condolences to the family and friends of the deceased Armenian soldier.
"It is noteworthy that Azerbaijan resorts to this provocation a few days after the statement made by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, in which the co-chairs stressed the need to strictly observe the ceasefire in the current situation and refrain from provocative actions.
At the same time, Azerbaijan announces large-scale military exercises with Turkey. All this testifies to the fact that the leadership of Azerbaijan, with its provocative actions, impedes the efforts of international mediators to de-escalate the situation, resume the peace process and thus assume responsibility for the consequences of further destabilization of the situation, "Naghdalyan said.
At the same time, she stated that Yerevan's position on the current situation was clearly expressed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on July 23 at a government meeting.
"Azerbaijan must publicly renounce the use of force, abandon its maximalist approaches and take credible steps to strengthen the ceasefire, which will create an opportunity to resume and advance the peace process," Naghdalyan concluded.
As ArmInfo previously reported, a serviceman of the contract service of the Armenian Armed Forces Ashot Gevorgovich Mikaelyan was killed by an enemy bullet at night. The incident occurred on July 27 at 01:10 am local time at one of the combat positions of the RA Armed Forces located in the northeastern direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border. "Soldier Mikaelyan received a mortal gunshot wound from the enemy's sniper shot. The RA Ministry of Defense expresses condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased," the RA Defense Ministry said earlier.