Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday that Azerbaijan is planning a “full-scale war” against Armenia.
The prime minister’s statement comes two days after four Armenian soldiers were killed in a clash on the Armenian border.
Tensions between the two states have remained high since Baku retook the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning military offensive last September. Pashinyan said at a government meeting.
“Our analysis shows that Azerbaijan wants to launch military action in some parts of the border with the prospect of turning military escalation into a full-scale war against Armenia. This intention can be read in all statements and actions of Azerbaijan.”
Yerevan has expressed concern that Azerbaijan, encouraged by its success in Karabakh, may invade Armenian territory to create a land bridge to its exclave of Nakhchivan.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who was re-elected this month, said in his inauguration speech on Wednesday that it is Armenia, not Azerbaijan, that has unresolved territorial claims. He said:
“We have no territorial claims to Armenia. And they should give up their claims. Talking to us in the language of blackmail will cost them dearly.”
Aliyev and Pashinyan have previously said a peace deal could have been signed by the end of last year, but internationally mediated peace talks have failed to produce a breakthrough. On Tuesday, both sides accused each other of opening fire on the volatile border, which Armenia said killed four of its soldiers.
