The instructions were given to relevant governmental institutions regarding the military provocation by the Armenian Armed Forces on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Border, said Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration at the press conference held on July 21, AzVision.az reports. 

“Before the incident, Armenia adopted a new reactionary doctrine which indicated that Armenia would commit provocation. Also, it has adopted a new national security strategy. On July 12, the Armenian Armed Forces executed a sudden artillery strike in the direction of Tovuz claiming that UAZ approached the posts. This is an unfounded claim. This attack is pre-planned military aggression by Armenia”, Hikmet Hajiyev stated.

Hajiyev noted that Armenia was aiming to distract attention from the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict: "The goal of Armenia was to involve the military-political organizations of which Armenia is a member and third parties to the conflict and to overshadow the success of Azerbaijan at the international level".

"At the same time, Armenia aimed at damaging the East-West Transport Corridor and oil and gas pipelines, putting the region at new environmental disaster risks, occupying new territories, gaining new advantages along the border, distracting attention from internal problems in Armenia, as well as taking revenge of the damages Armenia suffered in the April and Gunnut operations. However, Armenia failed to achieve any of its goals. Azerbaijani Armed Forces prevented Armenia's attack and aggression, made retaliatory strikes against the Armenian Armed Forces, ensured the inviolability of our borders and the protection of the civilian population. The military-political leadership of Armenia is responsible for this act of aggression. Armenia continues to be a threat to the world”, Hajiyev added.

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