Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was indicted on Thursday Azerbaijan plans “whole warfare” in opposition to him, two days after 4 Armenian troopers died in a border battle.
“Our evaluation reveals that Azerbaijan needs to launch army actions in some elements of the border with the intention of turning the army escalation into an all-out warfare in opposition to Armenia,” Pashinyan instructed a council of ministers.
Tensions between the 2 Caucasus neighbors have elevated since Azerbaijan recaptured the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area in a lightning army offensive in September.
Armenia fears that its neighbor, emboldened by this army victory, will invade its territory to construct a land bridge to the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan.
However Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, re-elected this month, mentioned in his inaugural speech on Wednesday that it was Armenia that had territorial claims.
(The orange mountain zone was recaptured by Azerbaijan in an offensive in September)
“Now we have no territorial claims in Armenia. They’ve to surrender their claims. Talking to us within the language of bribery will value them dearly,” Aliyev mentioned.
Pashinyan and Aliyev beforehand mentioned a peace deal may have been signed late final 12 months, however internationally brokered peace negotiations had made no progress.
On Tuesday, either side accused one another of opening fireplace on their risky border in a conflict, with Armenia saying it killed 4 of its troopers.
Within the center, the Armenian economic system minister resigned
Along with border tensions, Armenia is mired in a political disaster that led yesterday to the resignation of Armenia's Financial system Minister Vahan Kerobián, who left workplace amid a corruption scandal that rocked his division and led to the arrest of considered one of his deputy ministers final January.
“Pricey residents of the Republic of Armenia. It seems that I’ll not be Minister of Financial system,” Kerobian wrote on Fb.
Appointed in November 2020, Kerobián emphasised that in his time period, Armenia's GDP per capita resulted within the nation rising within the Worldwide Financial Fund rankings from 112th to 86th, forward of its neighbor Azerbaijan and different former Soviet nations resembling Belarus.
The quantity of investments in Armenia and its commerce exchanges with different nations have additionally elevated considerably, he added. “I thank the Prime Minister for the chance to serve my nation,” Kerobián concluded his message.
The minister's resignation comes two weeks after the arrest of considered one of his deputies, Ani Ispirián, who was criticized by Kerobián.
The official was later launched and Kerobián agreed to take accountability for the scandal in his ministry.