Armenia’s Defense Minister Suren Papikyan Downplays Risk of Azerbaijani Attack

Armenia’s Defense Minister Suren Papikyan assured on Friday that there are no clear signs of an immediate Azerbaijani attack, despite growing fears over escalating tensions along the border. His statement comes as Azerbaijan continues to claim that Armenian forces are violating the ceasefire, a charge that the Armenian military has strongly denied.

No Immediate Threat, Says Defense Minister Papikyan emphasized that any assessment of an impending military offensive requires solid intelligence data. “At the moment, such a phenomenon is not visible on the ground,” he stated. He also dismissed reports about Azerbaijani military buildup near the border, calling them “media disinformation.”

However, the defense minister did not directly address claims that Armenian forces stationed near the border village of Sotk were subjected to heavy gunfire overnight.

Instead, he referred to a Defense Ministry statement warning against the spread of “inaccurate, false, and fabricated information” about the situation at the border.

Foreign Intelligence Service Also Downplays Risk Kristine Grigoryan, head of Armenia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, echoed Papikyan’s stance, stating that there is no concrete evidence pointing to an imminent attack. “The situation is changing rapidly. We are monitoring the situation,” she added.

Rising Tensions Amid Peace Talks Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan have heightened since March 16, when Baku accused Yerevan of ceasefire violations just days after Armenia accepted Azerbaijani proposals on the remaining points of a bilateral peace treaty. Armenian analysts suggest that Azerbaijan’s accusations could be an attempt to justify possible military action or pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan into making further concessions.

Azerbaijan has also set new conditions for signing the peace treaty, insisting that Armenia change its constitution and dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan rejected these demands on Wednesday, urging Azerbaijan to show the same commitment to peace that Yerevan has demonstrated.

Azerbaijan’s Response On Friday, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded to Mirzoyan’s remarks, accusing Armenia of not addressing the issues that are delaying the peace treaty. “Yerevan should try to eliminate the problems preventing the signing of the treaty instead of criticizing Baku,” the statement read.