Azerbaijan accuses Armenian premier of 'deliberately creating tension in region'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Azerbaijan on Thursday accused Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of "deliberately creating tension in the region."

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that Pashinyan's assessment of Azerbaijani actions on the border with Armenia, voiced at a government meeting on Feb.15, "is a falsification of facts."

"It is well known that the stability that had been prevailing for almost five months was spoiled by the provocations of Armenia on Feb. 12, and the responsibility for this lies with the Armenian side,” it said.

On Monday, Azerbaijan’s State Border Service said that one of its soldiers was injured due to shots fired by Armenian forces toward the country's southwestern Zangilan district on Monday.

The ministry urged Armenia to explain why the Armenian Defense Ministry failed to keep its promise to conduct an investigation into the incident, as well as to clarify why it uses mercenaries at its border posts.

"If the Armenian side is really interested in the peace process, it should abandon its territorial claims to Azerbaijan," it added.