Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday accused
Azerbaijan of planning an "all-out war"
against him, two days after a border clash left four Armenian soldiers dead.
"Our analysis indicates that Azerbaijan wants to launch military action in some parts of the border with the intention of turning the military escalation into an all-out war against Armenia," Pashinyan told a council of ministers.
Tensions between the two Caucasus neighbors have grown since Azerbaijan recaptured the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in a lightning military offensive in September.
Armenia fears that its neighbor, emboldened by that military victory, will invade its territory to create a land bridge to the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan.
But Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, re-elected this month, stated in his inauguration speech Wednesday that it is Armenia that has territorial claims.
(The Nagorno orange zone was recaptured by Azerbaijan in an offensive in September)
"We have no territorial claims in Armenia. They must give up their claims. Speaking to us in the language of bribery will cost them dearly," Aliyev declared.
Pashinyan and Aliyev previously stated that a peace agreement could have been signed late last year, but internationally mediated peace negotiations failed to make progress.
On Tuesday, the two sides accused each other of opening fire on their volatile border, in a clash that Armenia said killed four of its soldiers.
In the middle, the Minister of Economy of Armenia resigned
In addition to border tensions, Armenia is going through a political crisis that yesterday led to the resignation of Armenia's Minister of Economy, Vahan Kerobián, who left his position in the midst of a corruption scandal that shook his portfolio and led to the arrest of one of his vice ministers last January.
"Dear inhabitants of the Republic of Armenia. It turns out that I will no longer be Minister of Economy," Kerobian wrote on Facebook.
Appointed in November 2020, Kerobián highlighted that during his management, Armenia's GDP per capita allowed the country to rise in the International Monetary Fund ranking from 112th place to 86th, above its neighbor Azerbaijan and other former Soviet countries, such as Belarus.
The volume of investments in Armenia and its trade exchange with other countries also considerably increased, he added.
"I thank the Prime Minister for the opportunity to serve my country," Kerobián concluded his message.
The minister's resignation comes two weeks after the arrest of one of his deputies, Ani Ispirián, who was criticized by Kerobián.
Later, the official was released and Kerobián was willing to take responsibility for the scandal in his Ministry.
Source: AFP and EFE