Statement by the Artsakh Foreign Ministry Regarding Azerbaijan's and Turkey's Sabotage of Peace Initiatives

On October 23, throughout the day, Azerbaijani-Turkish armed forces launched missile and artillery strikes on several settlements in the Republic of Artsakh. That evening, the capital of Artsakh, Stepanakert, was subjected to an intense missile attack. As a result, civil infrastructure was damaged, and there are injured among the civilian population.

Notably, the missile strikes towards Stepanakert were carried out immediately after the completion of separate meetings held in Washington between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, aimed at establishing a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

The timing and location of the attacks leaves no doubt that Azerbaijan is openly and demonstratively sabotaging the efforts of international mediators aimed at halting aggression against the Republic of Artsakh. Earlier, Azerbaijani authorities failed to observe the agreements on humanitarian ceasefire reached on October 10, initiated by the President of Russia, and on October 17 by the President of France.

The systematic and targeted actions of Azerbaijan, fully supported by Turkey's military-political backing, indicate that the war is a conscious choice of the Azerbaijani authorities. This fact obstructs the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group and, in general, the international community from making progress in attempts to cease hostilities and resume the peace process.

The vicious cycle created by Azerbaijan of making verbal promises to cease fire while simultaneously continuing armed aggression can be broken through the international recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh and the imposition of sanctions against Azerbaijan, including individual sanctions against the highest leadership of that country.