The Guardian: Azerbaijan's president threatens war with Armenia via Twitter
After clashes in the region of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev issues social media tirade, writes British daily The Guardian.
The Guardian notes that tensions fuelled last week in the conflict zone, leaving at least 14 people dead in the bloodiest violence the area has seen for years. “Both sides blamed each other for sparking the clashes, and details of exactly what took place remain unclear,” writes the article.
The article quotes Armenia’s Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan’s announcement, “the whole responsibility for escalation of the situation and human losses is on official Baku.”
Aliyev in his Twitter account calls Armenia “an enemy” and “an occupier.”
However, writes the Guardian, Armenia’s Defence Minister said this week that he believes there were “no grounds for a large-scale war.”
“Analysts have said that Azerbaijan is merely attempting to attract international attention to the conflict, and is unlikely to wage an all out military offensive, especially in view of Yerevan’s good relations with Moscow,” says the article.
According to senior expert on Caucasus at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Thomas de Waal, “As the losing side in the conflict, the Azerbaijanis make it their business to challenge the status quo, make the other side nervous and remind the world of the conflict.”
He says that it is one thing to have pinprick, but that “a major military offensive could blow back in the face of Azerbaijan.”