STRATFOR 2016: Azerbaijan willresort to military escalation to divert attention from economic difficulties
STRATFOR, a geopolitical intelligence firm, which provides strategic analysis, published a forecast regarding geopolitical processes expected in the second quarter of 2016.
According to the report, Azerbaijan will escalate the NagornoKarabakh dispute between itself and Armenia as it tries to divert attention from domestic economic difficulties. Still, STRATFOR argues, major military hostilities are unlikely to break out.Russia and Turkey will try to influence talks between the two countries through their respective allies.
Earlier today, the press service of the NKR Ministry of Defense reported that on the night of April 1-2, as well as on April 2 in the morning, the Azerbaijani military forces undertook large-scale offensive actions along the entire perimeter of the line of contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijani troops, as a result of which, the military positions of the Armenian Armed Forces and peaceful human settlements are exposed to artillery firing.
According to the NagornoKarabakh Republic Defense Army reports, on April 2in the morning, at 08:30 a.m. Yerevan time, VaghinakGrigoryan, born in 2004,was killedand other two children were woundedas a result of artillery rocket firing from MM-21 (Grad) in the direction of Martuni.
According to updated information, Karabakh forces have destroyed twoof the adversary’stanks in the south-eastern direction, and a tank and a UAV in the north-eastern direction. At about 12:30 p.m. Yerevan time, the NKR Air Defense forces downed one more military helicopter of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the south-eastern direction, and one UAV in the north-eastern direction.