Armenian army ready to defend entire border from any encroachments – Defense Ministry

Panorama, Armenia

The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border was relatively calm at night, with nearly 137 shots fired on different parts of the border, Armenian Defense Ministry representative Artsrun Hovhannisyan told a press briefing on Monday, July 20.

In particular, he said, the Armenian military outposts near different villages of Tavush Province came under largely indiscriminate Azerbaijani gunfire overnight, but the Armenian troops did not return fire in most cases.

The Azerbaijani military also opened fire towards other army corps and provinces of Armenia, using grenade launchers in the direction of military posts near the town of Chambarak.

“The Armenian Armed Forces responded to the accurate shots with targeted fire and silenced the adversary,” he added.

Asked about possible sharp escalations of the border situation as Turkey and Azerbaijan are planning to launch large-scale military operations in the direction of Nakhichevan, Hovhannisyan questioned the accuracy of such reports.

“They may have some intentions, but it is too early to make a clear statement about a plan for large-scale operations. In any case, the Armenian Armed Forces are ready to defend the entire border from any encroachments,” he stressed.