The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs ․

“On 11 December, at around 8:40 pm, taking advantage of the fact that no peacekeeping forces are deployed in this part of the Artsakh Republic, the special units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces attacked the Artsakh-Azerbaijani line of contact in the Old Tagher and Khtsaberd settlements of the Hadrut region, as a result of which six servicemen of the Defense Army received various degrees of gunshot wounds. Azerbaijani forces continued their provocative actions today in the direction of Mets Shen and Hin Shen settlements in Hadrut region.

Strongly condemning this gross violation of the commitments made by the top military-political leadership of Azerbaijan in the tripartite statement of ceasefire and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers, we emphasize that these actions are aimed at devaluing the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the conflict zone.

Adhering to its traditional way of working, the Azerbaijani side provoked the provocation during the visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to the region. In fact, this challenge to the efforts of the Co-Chairs is a continuation of the belligerent and unacceptable statements made by the leaders of Turkey and Azerbaijan to the Armenian people during the recent parade in Baku. Such a policy once again demonstrates the Turkish-Azerbaijani expansionist policy, which continues to undermine regional security and stability, and is fraught with expansion into neighboring regions.

These actions of official Baku make it more imperative to eliminate the consequences of the recent Azerbaijani aggression, including the de-occupation of the territories of Artsakh and the return of the Armenians of Artsakh to their places of residence.

“Taking into account the fact that Azerbaijan has violated its international obligations with impunity and its consequences, we call on the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to respond unequivocally and clearly to the Azerbaijani side’s actions aimed at violating the ceasefire, ethnic cleansing and occupation of Armenian settlements.”