The Armenian Foreign Ministry has called out Azerbaijan for the deliberate attempts to escalate the situation at the shared border with Armenia.

In a statement the ministry has stressed the need for establishment of international risk reduction mechanisms is an important priority of the  Nagorno Karabakh peace process.

The comments come in the wake of a ceasefire violation by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan in the Nakhijevan section of the state borders with Armenia that saw Armenian serviceman Zohrab Sianosyan shot dead by sniper fire.

“This is yet another attempt of Azerbaijan to intentionally escalate the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border: on March 6 Azerbaijani armed forces attempted an infiltration in Tavush region of Armenia,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“Regular attempts by Azerbaijan to escalate the situation on the state border with Armenia, to expand the geography of escalation and refrain from applying the existing mechanisms of de-escalation attest to the deliberate nature of Azerbaijan’s attempts to undermine regional security and peace,” the statement reads.

Such actions, the Ministry said “demonstrate that the establishment of international risk reduction mechanisms is an important priority of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process, and the implementation of agreements reached in that regard is a necessary condition for the advancement of the peace process.