It has been reported that an Azerbaijani army serviceman, Ruslan Eldeniz oglu Panakhov, got lost due to poor weather conditions while moving between service positions in the Lachin district and ended up on Armenian territory. Incidents like this happen from time to time along the undemarcated border, where there is no control-trace strip, barbed wire, or even border posts, especially in winter, under adverse weather conditions and limited visibility. Mountains are mountains.
An agreement has been reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia for such cases: soldiers who get lost due to adverse weather conditions and accidentally wander onto foreign territory are to be returned to the opposing side. However, Armenia is once again staging a cheap farce. First, there is a report of “infiltration” by two servicemen. Then, it is reported that one of them was “neutralized,” and the other is allegedly being searched for. The National Security Service of Armenia initiates a criminal case. All this forms a single picture: Armenia does not intend to fulfill the reached agreement on returning lost servicemen. And from this, very serious conclusions follow.
Any agreement is a two-way street. It cannot be that one side fulfills it, and the other does not. Therefore, if Armenia does not fulfill its obligations, Azerbaijan must take similar steps. Moreover, by breaking the agreement on the return of servicemen, Armenia once again demonstrates its unreliability in negotiations. Yerevan continues its provocative tactics and fails to fulfill its obligations.
And this, too, must be met with an appropriate response.
