Armenian MP warns of risk of new Azeri attacks

Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has warned of a risk of new Azerbaijani provocations and seizure of more Armenian territories in the future amid Armenia’s failure to retaliate to its latest deadly border attack.

Four Armenian soldiers were killed and another was wounded when their combat positions near the village of Nerkin Hand in Syunik Province came under Azerbaijani fire early on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry alleged that its attack on Armenian army positions had been in retaliation for the wounding of one of its soldiers in the area on Monday.

“If Azerbaijan takes the lives of four Armenian soldiers because of one, as it claims, wounded Azerbaijani soldier and gets away with it, Baku will find new pretexts in the future not only to inflict more losses on Armenia, but also to advance into an Armenian border area,” Abrahamyan, the secretary of the opposition Pativ Unem faction, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

“Do you remember what Aliyev said regarding Jermuk and other settlements? He said that they had invaded Armenian territory in order to understand more clearly whether the Armenians would resort to revenge.

“According to this logic and with the tacit or disguised consent of the Armenian authorities, Azerbaijan will carry out new attacks and seize the areas where they believe a road or corridor should pass through,” the MP said.

Abrahamyan claimed the deadly attack was also a test for Azerbaijan to understand how the Armenian authorities would respond to it.

“Azerbaijan’s choice of tactics for further development of its scenario depends on the current situation,” he added.