On November 17, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan received the heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Armenia. In his speech during the meeting, Ararat Mirzoyan noted:
«Hello. Thank you for accepting my invitation to this urgent meeting.
The purpose of this meeting is to present to you the details of Azerbaijan’s provocative and aggressive actions that took place yesterday on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
You are aware that yesterday there was an incursion by the Azerbaijani armed forces into the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. This was preceded by another attempted incursion two days earlier, on November 14. At noon, more precisely at 13:00 on November 14, Azerbaijani armed forces had entered the territory of the Republic of Armenia, as a result of which four Armenian positions had been surrounded. As a result of negotiations, those Azerbaijani soldiers and equipment were withdrawn from the territory of the Republic of Armenia. But the tension had not subsided with that, and yesterday, again at the same time, in approximately the same area, another new incursion took place, which was also accompanied by the use of armored vehicles, artillery, and weapons of various calibers, and, in essence, I can say that the Azerbaijani side has likely used everything except air force:
The Armenian side has resorted to response actions. And we must note that we cannot call this anything other than aggression against the Republic of Armenia.
As of 18:30 yesterday evening, through the mediation of the Russian side, the hostilities were stopped, but as a result of the incursion in that area, the presence of Azerbaijani forces in the Republic of Armenia continues.
I want to inform you that at this moment the Armenian side has 1 confirmed casualty, 12 captured Armenian servicemen, and the fate of another 24 Armenian servicemen is currently unknown. Search operations are underway with the participation of the Russian side.
It is obvious that these actions were preceded by months of very clear anti-Armenian, xenophobic, aggressive statements by the Azerbaijani authorities, overt threats of the use of force, encroachments, aspirations, and claims against the territory of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the so-called “corridor logic” — statements about having a corridor, including direct statements about taking a corridor by force.
I also want to inform you that it is our deep conviction that Azerbaijan’s behavior is a consequence of the fact that our international partners and the international community in general did not respond properly and specifically to the use of force by Azerbaijan during the aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh that began on September 27 last year, and subsequently during these months, regarding the statements and behavior I mentioned. In our conviction, the international community’s response to all the provocative and aggressive statements and actions I mentioned has not been specific and proper.
The continuous statements putting an equal sign between the parties have been directly perceived by Azerbaijan as encouragement to continue that behavior. We expect that our partner and friendly countries will respond immediately and specifically to these actions and will apply their direct influence on the Republic of Azerbaijan to urge the cessation of provocative actions and encroachments against the Republic of Armenia.
I also wish to inform you that within the framework of the UN Charter and all bilateral and multilateral treaties, the Republic of Armenia reserves the right to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty. And from this moment on, the entire responsibility for further escalation of the situation falls directly on the Republic of Azerbaijan.
I also want to speak about another political nuance. In our conviction, Azerbaijan, by moving the tension to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, to the territory of the Republic of Armenia, is trying to divert the international community’s attention from the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Let me emphasize once again that the Republic of Armenia will defend both its territorial integrity and the right of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination»:
At the end of the meeting, Ararat Mirzoyan answered the questions of those present.
