Armenia to advance peace agenda despite Azeri cross-border shootings, says lawmaker

Azerbaijan is attempting to derail the Armenian peace agenda, an Armenian lawmaker representing the ruling Civil Contract party warned Friday after the Azeri cross-border shooting at a border village in the country’s south.

MP Artur Hovhannisyan, the Secretary of the Civil Contract faction in parliament, told reporters that Armenia will not deviate from the agenda of peace despite the Azeri provocations.

“We will continue to move forward with our peace agenda. We have proposed Azerbaijan to bilaterally observe the border section, investigate such incidents and determine which side has incited the incidents, how that’s happening. We will continue to work in this direction. Armenia will not give in to such provocations and will not deviate from its agenda of peace. We are moving forward with the agenda of peace and we have the international community’s support for this agenda,” the MP said when asked to comment at a press briefing.

Azeri forces opened small arms fire  on Thursday and Friday at an Armenian village in the Syunik province, hitting residential houses.