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The Artsakh Foreign Ministry on Friday issued a statement, slamming Azerbaijan over the invasion of the village of Parukh and calling for strict response from the international community. The full statement is provided below.

"On March 24, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, grossly violating the ceasefire regime, crossed the line of contact with the Republic of Artsakh and invaded the village of Parukh in the Askeran region of Artsakh. The enemy has undertaken provocations also in the direction of the settlement of Khramort of the same region.

Moreover, on the night of March 25, the Azerbaijani military opened fire at the units of the Artsakh Defense Army, using both firearms of different calibers and attack drones (UCAV).

The above actions are the logical continuation of the recent terrorist campaign initiated by the Azerbaijani authorities, which manifests itself in the exertion of psychological pressure on the civilian population, periodic violations of the ceasefire regime, disruption of the operation of the only gas pipeline feeding Artsakh, resulting in a dire humanitarian situation in the Republic of Artsakh.

All these actions carried out by Azerbaijan are nothing but a state-orchestrated policy of ethnic cleansing aimed at the complete eviction of Armenians from Artsakh.

Azerbaijan's geopolitical goals are obvious: to intimidate the people of Artsakh, to strike at the Russian peacekeeping mission, to make the Transcaucasia a platform of pan-Turkism and extremism for the implementation of far-fetching programs in the future.

The international community and specialized international organizations should assess Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian policy in the strictest terms. Indifference and inaction will have the most severe consequences for the entire civilized world.

The people of Artsakh continue to stand firmly on their land. They will never give up their homeland and will never retreat to the vileness and insidious tricks of the enemy."