Armenian armed forces stationed in Karabakh must be disarmed: Azerbaijan president’s assistant

By Busra Nur Cakmak

The Armenian armed forces stationed in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region must be disarmed, the Azerbaijani president’s assistant said Tuesday.

“Illegal separatist puppet regime must dissolve itself, and the Armenian armed forces stationed in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan must be disarmed,” Hikmet Hajiyev said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Rights and security of civilians of Armenian descent in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan will be provided under the Constitution and international obligations of Azerbaijan,” Hajiyev added.

He said that his country “applies precision guided munitions against legitimate military targets and, by all means, avoids collateral damage to civilians.”

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that it started "anti-terror activities" in Karabakh to "suppress large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region, to disarm and secure the withdrawal of formations of Armenia’s armed forces from our territories, neutralize their military infrastructure, provide the safety of the civilian population returned to the territories liberated from occupation, the civilians involved in construction and restoration work and our military personnel, and ultimately restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan."

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire.

Tensions between the two nations, however, continue despite ongoing talks over a long-term peace agreement.