The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement concerning the abduction of an Artsakh resident by Azerbaijani border guards, stressing that this practice by Azerbaijan is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime.

The statement said in detail: “It should be noted that this action by the authorities in Baku is a direct implementation of the statement made by the country’s president on May 28: ‘The installation of a checkpoint on the Berdzor road will be a lesson to the Armenians of Artsakh, they will show their heads down’ and the continuing threats, which the Armenian side has repeatedly made, has alerted international partners, urging them to condemn these and similar statements.” This action by Azerbaijan directly demonstrates that Armenia’s long-standing alarms about ethnic cleansing reflect the seriousness of the existing mortal dangers.

Let’s recall that on July 29, 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan, who was traveling from Artsakh to Armenia with serious health problems, accompanied by the International Red Cross Organization for treatment, was abducted by representatives of the Azerbaijan Border Guard Service near an illegal checkpoint on the Berdzor road and taken in an unknown direction. Later, the Azerbaijan Prosecutor General’s Office issued a message stating that Azerbaijani border guards had arrested him and taken him to Baku. Vagif Khachatryan was presented with trumped-up charges in Azerbaijan.