Analysis Qualifies Actions of Azerbaijani Side as Acts of War, States Artsakh Foreign Ministry

On March 5, around 10:00 AM, a sabotage group of the Azerbaijani armed forces crossed the contact line and attacked a vehicle of the Artsakh Republic police's passport and visa department. As a result of the attack, three unarmed police officers were killed, and one was injured. The preliminary analysis of the circumstances surrounding the police killings allows us to qualify the actions of the Azerbaijani side as acts of war. This was reported by the Artsakh Foreign Ministry.

“The infiltration of the Azerbaijani sabotage group into the territory of the Artsakh Republic and the attack on the police officers represents yet another blatant violation of the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, and demonstrates Azerbaijan’s desire to provoke an escalation of tensions. Earlier, on March 2 and during the night of March 2-3, subdivisions of the Azerbaijani armed forces deployed in the occupied territories of the Askeran, Martakert, and Martuni regions also violated the ceasefire established by the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020. Notably, these attacks have occurred immediately after contacts held on March 1 regarding the opening of the Lachin corridor between representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan.

By its actions, Baku openly displays a rejection of negotiations as a means of resolving any issues. Against the backdrop of a blockade lasting over 80 days that has deliberately created unbearable living conditions for the people of Artsakh, the sharp escalation of the situation resulting in casualties further demonstrates Azerbaijan’s real objectives and its intention to complete the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. It is evident that the lack of adequate measures by the international community to prevent Azerbaijan's international unlawful actions has been perceived by the authorities of that country as a carte blanche to commit new atrocities.

We call on the international community as a whole and specifically on the parties involved in the resolution of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict to reconsider their approaches and take effective steps based on the norms of international law to put an end to Azerbaijan’s terrorist and genocidal policies,” the statement concluded.