Armenian Defense Ministry Condemns Planned Azeri Military Exercises

In a statement today, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia condemned the announced military exercises planned on May 18-22 by Azerbaijan, citing further aggravation of the security in the region.

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces stated that there will be “large-scale military exercises” with the participation of up to 10,000 servicemen, 120 artillery and armored vehicles, 200 missile systems, 30 units of aviation and various unmanned aerial vehicles.

According to the Azeri statement, during the exercise, the combat readiness, planning and operation of various military units will be developed, and the small and large capabilities of the strike groups will be checked.

The Armenian Defense Ministry drew the attention of the OSCE, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the international community, to the large-scale military exercise in Azerbaijan. As Azerbaijan has done in the past, the exercises will take place without prior notice to Armenia, further violating the Vienna Document.

The Armenian Defense Ministry stated, “It is noteworthy that the exercises are exclusively offensive in nature, during which massive strikes of missile-artillery, aviation, and high-precision weapons at the operational depth of the enemy will be utilized.”

Stressing that the Azeri side should show restraint and respect the obligations undertaken before the international community, the Armenian Defense Ministry conveyed that, “any exercise of military equipment and manpower on the border with Armenia or on the line of contact with Artsakh will be seen as a provocation and will have repercussions.”

Yesterday on May 13, the Azeri military utilized large-caliber weapons towards the village of Berkaber in the Tavush region of Armenia, as a result of which residential buildings were damaged. There were no human casualties on the Armenian side.