YEREVAN -- Azerbaijan threatened on July 25 to take large-scale military action against Armenia in response to what it called Armenian “provocations” along the border between the two countries.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claimed that the Armenian military recently used “heavy weaponry” and a reconnaissance drone in the area. The ministry also called on Armenia and its sponsors to “refrain from creating a new hotbed of war” in the South Caucasus.
“If such provocative actions do not stop, appropriate steps will be taken using all means in the arsenal of the armed forces of Azerbaijan for the purpose of self-defense,” it added in a statement.
The ministry also denounced Western powers for stepping up military cooperation with Armenia, citing joint military exercises conducted by the United States in Armenia this month, an arms deal with France, and the European Union’s allocation of 10 million euros ($10.9 million) in military aid to Yerevan.
It claimed these actions can inspire Armenia “to resort to new provocations and prepare for another war against Azerbaijan.”
The Armenian Foreign Ministry rejected the claims. Spokeswoman Ani Badalian insisted that Yerevan remains committed to its “peace agenda” and “will not deviate from this strategy.”
She pointed to Baku ignoring a recent Armenian proposal to conduct joint investigations of cease-fire violations alleged by either side.
Badalian said Armenia’s arms acquisitions from France and other nations are solely aimed at the “defense of its internationally recognized territory.”
The Armenian Foreign Ministry claimed on June 19 that Azerbaijan may be planning to unleash a “new aggression” against Armenia after hosting the COP29 summit in November. It pointed to Baku’s angry reaction to a different French-Armenian arms deal signed in Paris.
The latest Azerbaijani threats came two weeks after the foreign ministers of the two nations met in Washington for talks hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. They reported no progress toward the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
The neighboring countries have been negotiating a peace treaty since Azerbaijan retook control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September 2023, following a lightning offensive.
A traditional ally and partner of Russia, Armenia recently has turned toward improving its ties with the West and putting on ice its relations with Moscow, which Yerevan has blamed for failing to support it in its conflict with Azerbaijan.