The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has commented on the statement made by the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Report informs.
Head of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdullayeva commented on the fact that at a meeting with the parents of conscripts, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Sahak Sahakyan said that Armenian active service members in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan will be replaced by contract servicemen:
"This information, spread in the Armenian media concerning the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the country, is another unequivocal confession by Armenian officials regarding the sending of illegal military units to the territories of Azerbaijan.
"It is a gross violation of the trilateral statement of Armenia dated November 9/10, 2020. We remind that referring to Article 4 of the statement, the Armenian armed forces are withdrawn from the territories of Azerbaijan, and in parallel, a Russian peacekeeping contingent is stationed in these territories. For our part, we have repeatedly stated that the Armenian side violated the provisions of the tripartite statement, including the complete withdrawal of illegal armed groups from the territory of Azerbaijan.
"At a time when Azerbaijan is taking steps to normalize relations and build peace in the post-conflict period, such an approach by the Armenian side clearly demonstrates the latter's interest in creating tension in the region, not peace.
"This statement by Armenian officials shows that the Armenian side's talk of peace is nothing but hypocrisy.
"It is also a clear manifestation of the aggressive policy of the Armenian side."