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Azerbaijan started military exercises in blatant violation of the OSCE commitments, Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson Tigran Balayan wrote on Twitter. Balayan, specifically, pointed to the fact that the military drills started without prior notification of OSCE participating states.

To note, under the 2011 guidelines to the 1990 Vienna Document, OSCE countries that conduct exercises exceeding a combined total of 13,000 troops are required to notify all other OSCE participating states in advance of the exercise. Countries must also conduct a program for observation by other states during the entire period that the exercise exceeds the 13,000-troop threshold, including briefings on the scenario, opportunities to talk to individual service members, and overflights of the exercise.

As reported by Azerbaijani media, on March 12, large-scale exercises with the participation of various military branches, formations and military units of the Azerbaijani Army were launched, involving up to 25,000 military personnel, up to 250 tanks and other armored vehicles, up to 1000 missiles and artillery systems of different caliber.