At the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on 13 May, in the scope of the item “Current Issues” on the agenda, the Armenian delegation to the OSCE presented the item “On the Invasion of Azerbaijan to the Sovereign Territory of Armenia”.

The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE, Ambassador Armen Papikyan, informed the OSCE participating States on 12 May that the Azerbaijani armed groups had invaded the RA Syunik region.

He noted that Armenia views these actions as an encroachment on its sovereign territory, aimed at creating new sources of tension along the state border of Armenia, as well as psychological pressure on the civilian population of border areas.

Ambassador Papikyan also informed that the RA Government is currently trying to resolve the situation in a peaceful way in order to avoid further aggravation and possible victims.

At the same time, Ambassador Papikyan stressed that Armenia will not tolerate such a provocative policy of Azerbaijan.

Further, the RA Ambassador noted that the actions of Azerbaijan were preceded by the belligerent statements of the President of that country containing territorial claims to the Syunik region, up to the threat of using force.

The RA Permanent Representative also informed that “against the background of provocative actions of Azerbaijan, military exercises will be held in that country, which are held without prior notice, in violation of the requirements of the 2011 Vienna Document.” At least two of the military exercises conducted by Azerbaijan in recent years were postponed by the attack on Artsakh in 2016-2020.

Summing up, Ambassador Papikyan called on the OSCE participating States to respond adequately to such belligerent actions by Azerbaijan, noting that such gross violations of international law by Azerbaijan pose a serious threat to regional peace and security.