Equating victim and aggressor is unacceptable - says Ambassador-at-Large after Azeri sniper fire kills Armenian soldier

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador-at-Large Edmon Marukyan reacted on March 23 to the killing of an Armenian soldier by Azerbaijan on Wednesday, warning that equating the aggressor and the victim further encourages the aggressor. Marukyan noted that the Armenian soldier was gunned down after the White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby called for de-escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“After the @StateDept [sic] statement Azerbaijani forces shot and killed an Armenian soldier in the sovereign territory of Armenia. The practice of putting a mark of equality between the aggressor & the victim of that aggression is unacceptable and encourages the aggressor,” Marukyan tweeted.

On March 22, Kirby called for de-escalation and an end to violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Broadly speaking, what we’ve said before is we urge all sides here to de-escalate,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said at a press briefing when asked on the Biden administration’s position on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. “We don’t want to see any of this violence, and we want to see all sides take appropriate steps to de-escalate the tension and to stop the violence.”

Kirby declined to give an answer when asked whether or not the U.S. views the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh as a cause for concern.

The Armenian serviceman was shot dead by Azeri sniper fire near Yeraskh.