Azerbaijan attempting to gain dividends after failed blitzkrieg – Nagorno-Karabakh official

David Babayan, Spokesman for the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), has commented on Azerbaijani commandos’ the latest attempted incursion into the Armenian territory.

“Azerbaijan is seeking to save its face by means of such commando raids, prior to a regional trip by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” Mr Babayan said.

In response to a question that Azerbaijan has for a long period refrained from commando raids and normally resorts to provocations during holidays that are significant for Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and all Armenians, Mr Babayan said:

“And no event has any positive or negative impact on Azerbaijan’s policy because, as a Nazi state, it is expected to take such steps. But some circumstances impart ‘seasonality’ to Azerbaijan’s actions,” he said.

According to Babayan it is absolutely logical that the Azerbaijan increases aggression ahead of key meetings.

“That conduct does not fit into any logic, but that’s what we have,” he said, without ruling out the possibility that Aliyev might trying to gain political dividends inside his country.

Asked whether the September 21 independence parade dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence had any restraining role for Azerbaijan, Babayan said he doesn’t expect the country to abandon its aggressive conduct even after that. “But the possibility of a large-scale war … is very low,” he added.