Reuters: Armenian President says Azerbaijan threatens new war
In an interview with Reuters, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan accused Azerbaijan of threatening a new war over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan is accumulating a "horrendous quantity" of arms in preparation for a resumption of fighting, Serzh Sargsyan said.
He said Armenia wanted a negotiated settlement to the conflict and that he would spare no effort to achieve it.
"Now 18 years after the signing of this ceasefire agreement, Azerbaijan threatens us with a new war," Serzh Sargsyan stated.
Sporadic fighting has intensified on what is known as the line of conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Reuters.
"When I say that there is hatred towards Armenians, a general xenophobia in Azerbaijan; when I say there is a dangerous accumulation of armaments in Azerbaijan; when I say Azerbaijan is getting prepared for resuming military hostilities and settling the conflict by military means, that doesn't mean at all that there is no need to continue with negotiations," the Armenian President said.
According to Reuters, “tension between the two countries has risen since Hungary sent home to Azerbaijan an Azeri officer convicted of killing an Armenian officer on a NATO language training course in Budapest.”
Flush with oil wealth, Baku has increased military spending in recent years but denies accusations that it is the aggressor in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, whose breakaway from Azerbaijan as the Soviet Union fell apart has not been recognized internationally, Reuters reports.
Asked if he was confident he would see a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, Serzh Sargsyan said: "I'm confident.”
"At least I hope that I will never see Nagorno-Karabakh incorporated in the Azerbaijani framework again and that in itself is a huge success," he said.
Newsfeed
Videos
Artur Vanetsyan: I think you'll see me more often at various events in future
