UPDATE - Azerbaijan launches 'counter-terrorism measures' in Karabakh to uphold 2020 peace pact

UPDATES WITH AZERBAIJANI FOREIN MINISTRY STATEMENT; OTHER EDITS THROUGHOUT; REVISES HEADLINE

By Faruk Zorlu and Busra Nur Cakmak

Azerbaijan on Tuesday said that it had launched "counter-terrorism measures" in the Karabakh region to uphold provisions outlined in the November 2020 trilateral peace agreement it signed with Russia and Armenia.

Steps were taken 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 which returned to territories liberated from occupation, civilians involved in construction and restoration work and our military personnel, and ultimately restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Positions on the front line, firing points of the formations of Armenia’s armed forces, as well as combat assets and military facilities are being "incapacitated" using "high-precision weapons," the ministry added.

Azerbaijan reiterated that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure facilities are not being targeted, and only "legitimate military targets are being incapacitated."

The Russian peacekeeping contingent and the Turkish-Russian Monitoring Center are being informed about the ongoing activities, the statement added.

The ministry said systematic Armenian shelling of Azerbaijan army positions, continued mining, enhanced engineering support for battle positions, as well as more and more trenches and shelters in the Karabakh region in the past few months further escalated tensions.

It said that the "continued presence of Armenia’s armed forces formations" in the Karabakh region is a source of "grave threat to regional peace and stability."

Separately, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said: “The only way to achieve peace and stability in the region is the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Karabagh region of Azerbaijan and the dissolution of the puppet regime.”

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied 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.