YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan once again showed by using tanks against Artsakh that it is a crazy, fascist, terrorist state. Its policy and steps do not fit in sound reasoning. “Armenpress” reports that the Press Secretary of the Artsakh Republic President David Babayan said the aforementioned to “Armenpress”.

“This is a challenge to the international community, challenge to all the states carrying out anti-terrorism activities, because what Azerbaijan does is nothing but a classic manifestation of terrorism. It becomes impossible within such policy to expect progress in negotiation process in the near future,” David Babayan said.

In regard to the international community, Babayan stated that the latter must manifest a harsher approach.

He added that probably the international community was trying not to harm negotiation process, as they understood that they’re dealing with an inadequate state that could practice blackmail at any moment.  

In reference to the steps to be taken by the Armenian side, Babayan emphasized that one should not be intimidated and must make a strong counterattack. According to him, a terrorist is most of all afraid of force.

“The stronger the rebuff is, the more Azerbaijan will know its place,” Babayan concluded.  

The situation in the front line remains tense. For the first time the opponent’s tank opened fire on fighting positions located in the southern part of the Defense Army.  As “Armenpress” was informed by the Press Service of the Defense Ministry of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic , the rival violated the ceasefire regime for over 180 times in the line of contact of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing armies on December 8 and during the night of December 9. More than 1500 shots were fired towards Armenian frontier troops from weapons of different caliber, including 60 mm, 82 mm and 120 mm mortars, AGS-17 and RPG-7 grenade launchers. The adversary also applied TR-107 artillery rocket and a tank.

Contract soldier Garik Gurgen Avanesyan (born in 1991) sustained mortal gunshot wound at one of the fighting positions located in the eastern direction of the Defense Army at approximately 21:10, December 8, due to the shot the rival fired from large caliber sniper rifle.