Alwaght- Western powers are seeking to stir instability in the South Caucasus region and obstruct the Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement process, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said, addressing a security council secretaries’ meeting on Afghanistan in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan.
“We can also see the Westerners’ desire to create instability in the South Caucasus and obstruct the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement process, which has led to a rise in tensions in the related regions,” he pointed out, reported Tass news agency.
On February 12, Azerbaijan’s State Border Service said that an Azerbaijani border guard had suffered wounds in a shelling attack launched from Armenia. On the morning of February 13, the service announced that an Armenian combat post had been destroyed in “a revenge operation” carried out in response to the shelling. In turn, Yerevan said that four of its soldiers had been killed.
Addressing a cabinet meeting on February 15, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the armed incident on the border with Azerbaijan was the result of Baku’s destructive policy. He also accused Azerbaijan of planning to launch large-scale aggression against Armenia. However, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry rejected the Armenian prime minister’s allegations as unfounded and intended to raise tensions in the region.
