The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively stable

The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia reports that the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has spread another disinformation, claiming that today the units of the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire on the combat positions of Azerbaijan on the eastern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively stable and is under full control of the RA Armed Forces. 

Later, Artsakh Defense Army reported that the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has spread an information that units of the Defense Army opened fire on Azerbaijani positions located in the south-eastern direction of Artsakh at around 10:05 on February 23.

In fact, the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime in that section of the border, as a result of which the Armenian side didn’t suffer losses.

The relevant information was provided to the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent upon the violation of the ceasefire regime.

The Artsakh Defense Army didn’t violate the ceasefire regime in this or any other direction. 

Recognition of DPR, LPR not on agenda, says Armenian Foreign Ministry 

The issue of recognizing the Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic is not on the agenda of Armenia, the Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said in response to a query from ARMENPRESS.

"Naturally we want the existing problems between the two friendly states to be resolved through diplomatic dialogue and negotiations based on norms and principles of international law and the UN Charter. And we hope that necessary steps will be taken to reduce tension and resolve the situation peacefully," Hunanyan said.

The charge d'affaires of Ukraine in Armenia Denis Avtonomov thinks that Russia's recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics "costs nothing." 

"Their recognition has no value, they can recognize anything," the diplomat said.

He recalled that Ukraine has been at war with Russia for about eight years. Speaking about the situation on the line of contact, he noted that it's still difficult: "The shots continue. Almost every day we have losses."

Avtonomov expressed satisfaction with Armenia's position in connection with the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk: "We are very grateful and very positively assess Armenia's position." 

RA MFA explained Armenia's position on  regarding the signing of the declaration on allied cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan

Acting Speaker of Parliament Hakob Arshakyan says Armenia will properly study the text of the partnership treaty signed between Russia and Azerbaijan and that Yerevan will give a response, however he noted that it is every sovereign nation’s right to conduct foreign policy the way they want it.

Arshakyan made the comments during a press briefing when asked about the February 22 Allied Partnership Declaration signed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"There’s no response yet. The text will be properly studied, and then, I think there’ll be a swift response," Arshakyan said.

"Of course, by maintaining our strategic interests, but we must also take into account that all countries have the right to conduct their own foreign policy," he added.

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan answered the question, what is Armenia's position regarding the signing of the declaration on allied cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan. 

"The interstate allied cooperation between RA and RF is self-sufficient and is in no way conditioned by relations with third countries, if they don’t develop relations to the detriment of the Armenian-Russian alliance. This is evidenced by both the history and the concluded documents.

Yerevan and Moscow at different levels, including at the high and highest, consistently take steps to expand relations both in bilateral and multilateral formats in the interests of the development of our countries in guaranteed security conditions.

We hope that the declaration (between Russia and Azerbaijan-ed.) will provide an additional opportunity to advance the implementation of the provisions of the three trilateral statements adopted by the heads of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, which can contribute to a lasting and comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs," Hunanyan said.

Other News

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey is ready to take further steps in improving relations with Armenia and establishing a regional cooperation platform in the Caucasus 

• Arman Tatoyan, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, whose term of office is expiring, is not going to join any political force

• Erdogan and Aliyev discussed relations with Armenia and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis

• Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will pay a working visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan on February 24-25.