BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:40 P.M.) – The spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry, Artsron Hovhannisyan, said on Wednesday that Azerbaijan is amassing its forces in preparation for an attack near the Iranian border so that Karabakh forces will not be able to fire at them.
Hovhansyan posted on his Facebook page: “For the second day, the sub-units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, which lacked sufficient capabilities to carry out effective offensive operations, began to resort to clear provocations. In particular, in the southern direction of the direct contact line, where the Azerbaijani units congregate in large groups along the border between Artsakh (Karabakh) and Iran (along the Araks River) directly, they try to advance, taking advantage of their presence near the border. ”
He continued, “thanks to these tactics, the Azerbaijani side is trying to provoke Artsakh (Karabakh) to respond by firing or shelling along the border in the direction of Iran.”
“It is not excluded as a result of the military operations that the Azerbaijani units will be forced to withdraw or flee to Iranian lands. To avoid this, we believe that the Iranian side, which sees all this undoubtedly, should prevent this or force the Azerbaijani side to refrain from mobilizing its forces,” Hovhansyan said.
For his part, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned on Wednesday, both Azerbaijan and Armenia of the widening of the conflict in Karabakh and its transformation into a regional war.
“Countries that blow on the fires of war and pour oil on them must realize that this will not be in the interest of anyone in the region,” Rouhani added.
The renewed military clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan began on September 27th, in the most violent round fighting in nearly 30 years.
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