The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claimed that the Armenian military has used “heavy weaponry” and a reconnaissance drone there lately. It said “Armenia and its sponsors should refrain from creating a new hotbed of war in the South Caucasus.”
“If such provocative actions do not stop, appropriate steps will be taken using all means in the arsenal of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan for the purpose of self-defense,” it added in a statement.
The ministry also denounced Western powers for stepping up military cooperation with Armenia.
“The military exercises conducted by the United States in Armenia [this month,] the provision of lethal weapons by France to Armenia and the European Union’s allocation of 10 million euros in military aid to Yerevan under the guise of the European Peace Fund inspire the occupying Armenia to resort to new provocations and prepare for another war against Azerbaijan,” it alleged.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry was quick to reject these claims. Its spokeswoman, Ani Badalian, insisted that Yerevan remains committed to its “peace agenda” and “will not deviate from this strategy.” She pointed out that Baku has ignored a recent Armenian proposal to conduct joint investigations of ceasefire violations alleged by either side.
In a statement, Badalian further insisted that Armenia’s arms acquisitions from France and other nations are solely aimed at the “defense of its internationally recognized territory.”
On June 19, the Armenian Foreign Ministry claimed that Azerbaijan may be planning to unleash a “new aggression” against Armenia after hosting the COP29 summit in November. It pointed to Baku’s angry reaction to another French-Armenian arms deal signed in Paris.
The latest Azerbaijani threats came two weeks after the foreign ministers of the two South Caucasus nations met in Washington for talks hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. They reported no decisive progress towards the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty discussed by them.