Angela Merkel called President Ilham Aliyev

On September 29, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Angela Merkel expressed her country's concern about the armed confrontation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line and inquired about the course of events.

The head of state noted that on the morning of September 27, Armenia committed a military provocation against Azerbaijan and as a result of the shelling from heavy artillery installations of our military formations, cities and villages along the line of contact, our servicemen, 10 civilians, including two children, were killed within two days. 29 civilians were injured and 150 houses were destroyed. The Azerbaijani side launched a counter-offensive operation.

The head of state said that earlier, in July-August, Armenia had committed military provocations against our country, as a result of which servicemen and civilians were killed. President Ilham Aliyev stressed that these provocations are a continuation of the aggressive policy of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

The President of Azerbaijan stressed that the statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia "Karabakh is Armenia, period" makes the negotiation process meaningless, and the demand of the Armenian leadership from Azerbaijan to negotiate with the self-proclaimed "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" should be regarded as an attempt to change the format of negotiations. The head of state also said that the Armenian defense minister threatened Azerbaijan with a new war for new lands, and this plan is being implemented in practice.

The head of state stressed that the responsibility for the further development of events related to the military provocation of Armenia falls on the political and military leadership of Armenia, the Azerbaijani army fights on its own land, and the Armenian army should not be on Azerbaijani soil.

President Ilham Aliyev added that Armenia is illegally settling foreign citizens in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which, according to the Geneva Convention, is a serious violation of international law, and this is a war crime.

During the conversation, the sides discussed the possibilities of restoring the ceasefire regime and the negotiation process.