Azerbaijan Overestimated Its Capabilities: Foreign Minister on July Events

The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, gave an interview to the 'Al-Akhbar' newspaper. When asked about the reasons behind the recent clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Foreign Minister responded: 'There are many reasons, but the key point is that this was a new attempt by Azerbaijan to impose unilateral concessions on Armenia and Artsakh through the use of force and the threat of force. However, more importantly, Azerbaijan evidently overestimated its capabilities, which currently do not correspond to its known objectives.

This was an attempt by the Azerbaijani side to demonstrate military superiority over Armenia and Artsakh, which clearly failed. The July battles showcased Armenia's capabilities to defend itself, its population, and its borders. Moreover, the July battles vividly demonstrated that the conflict cannot have a military solution.'

The journalist inquired about Turkey's role in the escalation of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 'We have witnessed Turkey's destabilizing role not only in our region but also in all neighboring regions. The manifestations of power, infiltration, and intervention in the South Caucasus region do not contribute to the peaceful resolution of the conflict, nor to regional peace, security, and stability.'

During the July battles, Turkey was the only country that unilaterally supported and encouraged Azerbaijan's aggressive approaches. This support was accompanied by an aggressive stance towards Armenia and the Armenian people: firstly, Turkey publicly encouraged Azerbaijan to adopt a tougher stance towards Armenia and Artsakh, openly expressing its support for Azerbaijan, including militarily; secondly, Turkey displayed a warlike posture against Armenia by initiating large-scale military exercises in close proximity to Armenia and Artsakh, which were accompanied by highly provocative actions; thirdly, we are witnessing the continuous accumulation of Turkish military presence in Azerbaijan, which reinforces and expands Turkey's ongoing presence; fourthly, there are reports circulating about the recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters in Syria for the purpose of transporting them to Azerbaijan.

We are well aware of the consequences of such actions by Turkey in other regions, which have caused great suffering to the peoples living in those regions. Therefore, we must be very vigilant in maintaining and strengthening regional peace and security,' Mnatsakanyan responded.