A year ago, on this day, September 13, the Azerbaijani armed forces launched a military aggression unprecedented on its scale against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. This Azerbaijani aggression was preceded by the invasion and occupation of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia in May and November 2021. As a consequence of these actions Azerbaijan has occupied 150 sq km of sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. 

The actions of the Azerbaijani side were accompanied by the targeting of settlements, civilian and environmental infrastructures, the use of weapons of large calibre and drones. The mutilation of bodies of Armenian servicemen, including women, in the territories fallen under the control of Azerbaijan, the shocking video recordings of which are available, and which have been criticized by international institutions and human rights organizations, constitute war crimes and should also be subject to a clear international legal investigation and universal assessment.

Guided by a sense of impunity, Azerbaijan continues to endanger peace and stability in the South Caucasus. These days, numerous videos are spreading on social networks, indicating that Azerbaijan is accumulating troops and military equipment of large caliber both along the state border with Armenia and along the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh, near the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. The cases of Azerbaijan targeting the positions of the armed forces of Armenia and violations of the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan have increased significantly.

The Republic of Armenia highly appreciates the statements and actions of those partners who a year ago clearly stated the fact of violation of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia and the inadmissibility of the use of force by Azerbaijan, which was also a clear message to prevent such behaviour in the future.

The armed forces of Azerbaijan must withdraw from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. At the same time, being interested in establishing stability and peace in the region, Armenia reaffirms its proposal to carry out a mirror distancing of troops from the inter-state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, based on the 1975 maps of the GS of the USSR.

We expect that the actors interested in peace and security in the region and organizations with respective mandate will undertake all the efforts and use all the mechanisms at their disposal to prevent attempts of new destabilization and illegal use of force in our region.