Minister of Territorial Administration Davit Khudatian and Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan travelled to the area on Tuesday and spent the night in one of those villages, Khnatsakh. Villagers told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Wednesday that they heard more cross-border gunfire overnight.
“They shoot for a few minutes, stop, and then shoot again,” said one Khnatsakh resident who did not want to be identified.
Vahan Zakian, who runs the nearby village of Khoznavar, also reported gunshots fired towards his community.
When asked whether the ministers promised any solutions to the growing security concerns of the local population, Zakian said: “They didn’t tell us anything.”
The Armenian Economy Ministry said nothing about the gunshots in a video report on Papoyan’s and Khudatian’s visit released by it. It said the ministers discussed with villagers government efforts to support local agriculture, upgrade roads and improve water supply.
Papoyan was shown saying that the people of Khnatsakh and Khoznavar remain “attached to their land” and strongly support the Armenian government’s “peace agenda.” His press office declined to say whether he also heard gunshots.
“Providing information on ceasefire violations is beyond the ministry’s authority,” it said. “Please contact the Ministry of Defense.”
The gunshots, which have damaged at least two local houses, reportedly began days after Azerbaijan started accusing Armenian troops of violating the ceasefire regime on a regular basis. The accusations denied by the Armenian military followed official announcements on March 13 that the two conflicting sides have bridged their differences on the text of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
The Azerbaijani leadership has made clear that it will not sign the treaty without securing more Armenian concessions. Armenian opposition figures say the cross-border gunfire is aimed at forcing Yerevan to make those concessions. They have criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government for downplaying the significance of the truce violations.
Pashinian ruled out on April 17 the possibility of a fresh Azerbaijani military attack on Armenia. By contrast, his foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, complained about the Azerbaijani preconditions and suggested that Baku is “not going to build peace.”