Zakir Hasanov: "We knew that Armenia was planning military provocations to aggravate situation"

"I must especially emphasize that the Ministry of Defense had not fully disclosed the Azerbaijani Army's equipment with the most modern weapons of the newest generation, special combat missions. Because, the military potential of a country at war must be kept secret," the Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov said in an interview with the state media, Report informs

"However, the enemy knows very well that the Azerbaijani Army is strong and is closely following the positive changes in our military potential. We knew how sensitive the Armenian special services were to this issue. At the same time, we understood that Armenia was planning military provocations to aggravate the situation. Such an attempt occurred on April 2-5, 2016. The Armenian Armed Forces intensively fired at all our forward positions, settlements, civilian infrastructure and civilians using large-caliber weapons and artillery. As a result of the retaliatory measures carried out by our army, the manpower and military equipment of the enemy suffered heavy losses, and the provocation committed by Armenia led to its own crushing defeat," the minister said.

The minister noted that from the first minutes of the operation, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief took over the leadership.

"That night, the president returned from a nuclear security summit in Washington. He convened a meeting of the Security Council on April 2 and gave specific instructions. Under his leadership, our army, in a short time, inflicted a crushing response to the Armed Forces of Armenia, counterattacking from all sides and inflicting heavy blows on the enemy's position," Hasanov stressed.