A march in protest at the provocation staged by the armed forces of Armenia against Tovuz region on the Azeri-Armenian border and in support of the armed forces of Azerbaijan was mounted in Chisinau on June 22, organized by the Congress of Azeris of the Republic of Moldova. The participants came with placards saying “Stop Armenia’s Aggression against Azerbaijan”. The protesters marched from the Embassy of Azerbaijan to the Embassy of Armenia in Chisinau and to the OSCE and UN Missions in Moldova. At the Embassy of Armenia, the representatives of the Azeri community clashed with representatives of the Armenian community. The police intervened to calm things down, IPN reports.
During the protest, there was presented a Statement of the Congress of Azeris of the Republic of Moldova saying that the Azeris in Moldova condemn Armenia’s act of aggression against Azerbaijan of July 12, 2020. “Even if we are far away from the homeland, we want to show our solidarity with the Azeri people, with the leader of the Azeri people, President Ilham Aliyev. With the feeling of great pride, we were once against witness to the greatness and power of Azerbaijan’s army that gave a deceive response to the enemy,” says the Statement that was read by the Congress’ president Elcin Bairamov
The Statement notes that all the Azeris in the world, including the Azeris of Moldova, are ready to join in the fighting at the first call of the high commander of the armed forces so as to restore the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The participants condemned Armenia’s provocation and asked that this country should be held accountable for the attempt to start a new war against the Republic of Azerbaijan. This type of provocation is a serious impediment to the peaceful resolution of the Azeri-Armenian conflict. This type of aggression violates the international law and is a threat to the security of the whole region.
The Congress of Azeris of the Republic of Moldova called on the OSCE Mission to attentively investigate the aggressive actions of Armenia at the Azeri-Armenian state border in Tovuz region and to urge Armenia to ensure peace, to stop the provocations and to withdraw its armed forces from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, as it is stipulated in UN Resolutions No. 822, 853, 874 and 884.
Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Moldova Gudsi Osmanov said the military forces of Armenia fired towards Tovuz region because a very important transport system, gas and oil pipes cross that territory and they probably wanted to conquer those peaks of Azerbaijan and from there to fire, violating thus the temporary ceasefire regime. Twelve soldiers were killed in that region. Armenia tried to tell the whole world that this provocation was staged by the military forces of Azerbaijan, but the international community could learn that the military forces of Armenia, violating the temporary ceasefire regime, organized a military and political provocation,” stated the ambassador.
Gudsi Osmanov noted that during almost 30 years, the military forces of Armenia have kept Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts under control. Almost 1 million refugees had to leave their homes. In accordance with the resolution of the international organizations, Azerbaijan asks to respect the right of millions of refugees to return home and that the Armenian armed forces should leave Azerbaijan. Regrettably, Armenia’s administration ignores the given international law principles. “By this protest, we call on the international community to give a fair assessment, that the military forces of Armenia violated the state borders and that the artillery fired not only at the military, but also at the villages with peaceful civilians,” said the ambassador.
The Armenian army on July 12 attempted to attack Azerbaijani positions by firing artillery towards the Tovuz border district, but withdrew after suffering losses following retaliation from the Azerbaijani army. The armed forces of Azerbaijan retaliated and launched counteroffensive measures, preventing the Armenian armed forces from moving forward.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a territorial and ethnic conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, which are de facto controlled by the self-declared Republic of Artsakh, but are internationally recognized as de jure part of Azerbaijan.