ARF leader says Baku paving the way for new offensive

PanARMENIAN – Leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun, lawmaker Armen Rustamyan thinks Azerbaijan is paving the way for large-scale military actions against Nagorno Karabakh.

Azerbaijan on Tuesday, July 4 violated the ceasefire on the contact line with Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), using various caliber mortars and even employed a TR-107 rocket engine in the south of the frontline. Artsakh Defense Army opened retaliatory fire to suppress the rival’s attacks. During the incident, two civilians – a 52-year-old woman and a 2-year-old girl from Azerbaijan – were killed.

“They need the victims to later use them as an excuse for large-scale operations,” RFE/RL Armenian Service cited Rustamyan as saying on Thursday.

“Armenia must show the international community the real goals Azerbaijan is pursuing, giving the latter no chance to justify the resumption of military actions.”

At the same time, Rustamyan says, Armenia must give an adequate response to Baku.