Why Were There No Exercises When Armenians Were in Jabrail? Aliyev on Iranian Military Exercises at the Border

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has spoken about the military exercises of Iranian troops near Azerbaijan’s borders against the backdrop of tensions between Baku and Tehran.

“This is a very unexpected development. Because in our 30 years of independence, such events have not occurred. First, I must say that every country has the right to conduct any exercises on its territory. This is its sovereign right. Nobody can say anything to it. But when we analyze it in terms of timing, we see that it has never happened. Why now and why at our border?” Aliyev said in an interview with Anadolu.

The country’s leader noted that he is not the one asking this question, but the Azerbaijani public. “The Azerbaijani world is asking about this. There is also a question of why exercises were not conducted in this territory during the occupation. Why were exercises not organized when Armenians were in Jabrail (Jrakan), Zangilan (Kovsakan), and Fizuli (Varanda)? Why is this happening after we liberated these lands and ended the 30-year occupation? These are fair questions. Of course, we want to ensure that a situation does not arise in the region that could affect long-term cooperation. And let me reiterate that Azerbaijan is also acting here very responsibly and balanced. I hope the emotional reaction to our legitimate actions is temporary,” said the President of Azerbaijan.

It should be noted that the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan have strained since Azerbaijani authorities detained Iranian drivers for “illegally entering Azerbaijan's territory” on the Goris-Kapan road.

In response to a question regarding the detention of Iranian truck drivers by Azerbaijan, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, noted that Iran is pursuing this issue and has demanded an immediate release of the drivers and a meeting with officials to ensure a fundamental solution to the problem.