On September 29, Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her country's concern over the armed clashes on the Line of Contact between Armenia and Azerbaijan and inquired about the latest developments.
President Ilham Aliyev noted that on the morning of September 27, Armenia committed a military provocation against Azerbaijan and shelled military units, towns and villages of Azerbaijan along the Line of Contact using heavy artillery. Due to the bombardment Azerbaijani servicemen, ten civilians, including two children, were killed, 29 civilians were wounded, and 150 houses were destroyed in two days. The head of state said the Azerbaijani side launched a counter-offensive operation.
The President noted that Armenia previously perpetrated military provocations against Azerbaijan in July-August and killed Azerbaijani servicemen and civilians. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that these provocations were a continuation of Armenia's policy of aggression against Azerbaijan.
President of Azerbaijan noted that the Armenian prime minister's statement "Karabakh is Armenia, full stop" made the negotiation process senseless. The Armenian leadership's demand that Azerbaijan was to negotiate with the self-proclaimed "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" should be assessed as an attempt to change the format of negotiations. Simultaneously, the head of state said that the Armenian defense minister had threatened Azerbaijan with a new war over new territories, adding that this plan was being realized.
President Ilham Aliyev stressed that Armenia's military-political leadership was responsible for further developments in the wake of Armenia's military provocation, stating that Azerbaijan's Army has been fighting on its land and the Armenian army should not be present on Azerbaijan's soil.
President Ilham Aliyev went on to say that Armenia was conducting a policy of illegal settlement of foreign nationals in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which is a gross violation of international law under the Geneva Convention, adding that it amounts to a war crime.
The possibility to restore the ceasefire and the negotiation process were discussed during the telephone conversation.
