Command-Staff Exercises held in Nakhchivan

The Command-Staff Exercises are being undertaken in accordance with the Nakhchivan garrison soldiers' Combat Coordination Plan for 2022, according to the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry.

The formations and units of the Nakhchivan garrison soldiers were brought to various degrees of combat readiness and put on alert, according to the scenario of the Command-Staff Exercises.

During the exercises, the commanders' skills and abilities to make quick decisions based on the current tactical situation and report to the command staff in active electronic warfare conditions, as well as to communicate decisions to their subordinates and organise combat operations.

Terrorist units of a fictional adversary were discovered in inaccessible mountainous terrain, and they were killed by special attack groups with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles, and the favourable high ground was taken.

Anti-tank units manning deployment lines in tank-dangerous directions used direct and semi-direct fire to destroy the hypothetical enemy's armoured vehicles. Air defence troops engaged out operations against fictitious enemy airstrikes and unmanned aerial vehicles during the drills, which focused on cooperation with aviation.

Additional forces are being used in Command-Staff Exercises to complicate operational situations.

Azerbaijan: Tactical drills are held by the Army's air defence units

The Azerbaijani army's air defence forces performed live-fire tactical training, according to the Defence Ministry. The manoeuvres were part of the 2022 combat training plan, according to the article.

"During the practise shooting, military troops used portable anti-aircraft missile systems to locate and destroy a fictional enemy's air targets," the ministry stated. It went on to say that the participants completed the given military duties satisfactorily.

Azerbaijan undertakes drills on a regular basis to strengthen the combat preparedness of its military troops. The drills are also intended to improve servicemen's interaction and combat coordination during operations, as well as commanders' military decision-making and unit administration skills.

Pashinyan: “Drawing analogies between the Lachin corridor and the route connecting Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan via Armenian territory is unacceptable”

At a government meeting, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stressed that drawing analogies between the Lachin corridor and the route connecting Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan across Armenian territory is impermissible.

According to Pashinyan, Baku is distorting paragraph 9 of the November 9, 2020, tripartite agreement on the restoration of transport and economic communications in the region, which includes the opening of a route connecting Azerbaijan's western districts with Nakhichevan. "You are aware that Armenia has made thorough suggestions on this subject. Without going into detail, the core of our idea is to repair the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway and reopen or create a motorway connecting Azerbaijan's western districts with Nakhichevan (Nakhchivan)," he recalled.

Baku, according to Pashinyan, recognises and rejects the Armenian viewpoint at the same time. "They say they accept with any legal regime for the functioning of this route, but the same regime should work in the Lachin corridor," he added, citing the November 9 statement as evidence.

This assertion, according to Pashinyan, is false for two reasons. "To begin with, no other corridor except Lachin is mentioned in the November 9 announcement. The Lachin corridor is not simply a corridor, but also a 5-kilometer-wide territory under Russian peacekeepers' authority, as stated in a three-part statement. There is no provision for another nation to take control of any portion of Armenia," he stated.

For various reasons, as the PM noted, drawing similarities between Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhchivan is unusual. "To begin with, Nakhichevan has land connectivity with Azerbaijan via the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey, as well as air communication via the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey, and the Republic of Armenia's airspace. And Nagorno-Karabakh's land link with Armenia is through the Lachin corridor and allowing Azerbaijan to dominate the Lachin corridor in any form entails expulsion of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh," Pashinyan elaborated.

At the same time, Nikol Pashinyan reiterated his willingness to establish a railway and a highway in accordance with the Armenian side's requests. "However, we believe that a de jure agreement with Azerbaijan is required. Why? Because we see a distinct risk when Armenia constructs both a road and a railway while Azerbaijan refuses to open the border. And it turns out that neither Armenia, Azerbaijan, nor third nations will be able to use the infrastructure, which will cost hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, and Armenia will simply lose hundreds of millions of dollars. What are our plans for today? The railway was scheduled to open in 2021. According to de jure agreements reached in Brussels on December 14, 2012, we are ready to coordinate the parameters of the railway and start construction, or do it as a package, including the highway, and we are ready to do it as soon as Azerbaijan responds positively to our proposals," said the PM. According to him, the recommendations were presented to international partners who thought they were rational, acceptable, and met the needs of all countries in the area.

Armenia's President reiterates Armenia's support for peaceful settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh

President Vahagn Khachaturyan underlined Armenia's entire support for a peaceful and final resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, according to his office.

During a meeting with OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, Khachaturyan emphasised that Armenia has always supported regional peace. Within the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship, he emphasised the necessity of defending the people of Artsakh's fundamental rights and the need for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict.

In the meanwhile, Rau emphasised the necessity of building a long-term peace in the South Caucasus, stressing that the conflict's participants must first demonstrate significant political will and preparedness for a permanent solution.

He stated that the OSCE would continue to make every effort to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the dispute and to maintain regional security and peace.

Armenia anticipates that the OSCE will facilitate peace talks with Azerbaijan

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told the press after meeting with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, that Armenia expects the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship to organise peace talks with Azerbaijan in the near future, with the goal of concluding a comprehensive peace agreement.

"At the very least, we are consistent on this issue, as well as in the obligations and milestones outlined in the Trilateral Statements of November 9, 2020, January 11, 2021, and November 26, 2021," Mirzoyan said.

"I want to reiterate the readiness of the Armenian side to undertake steps towards increasing the stability in the bordering area, and then to launch the process of demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I would also like to mention that, as you know, consultations are conducted between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the unblocking of transport and economic roads, and here we have come up with proposals and are waiting for Azerbaijan's response. We believe that, both in terms of unblocking economic roads and, more broadly, pursuing a comprehensive peace, with the appropriate position of international partners and, probably, the constructive position of Azerbaijan, we will be able to achieve tangible results," he added.