Armenia is resorting to attacks on Azerbaijani cities outside the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, because it is trying to internationalize the war by getting Azerbaijan to do the same and attack Armenia cities, Glen E. Howard, President of the Jamestown Foundation, told Trend.

“Armenia is using these missile strikes as a form of asymmetric warfare to fight back against Baku due to Azerbaijani military successes on the battlefield. Armenia is out-gunned and outmanned by Azerbaijan. The missile attacks on the second largest city of Ganja is an effort to force Azerbaijan to do something similar by retaliating against Armenian cities in order to attract Western attention. Armenia seeks to internationalize the conflict which it sees as its best hope to stop Azerbaijani military advances without giving concession at the peace table on Karabakh. I think Armenian officials are being reckless in this type of approach to warfare. I see it as an act of desperation by Yerevan,” he said.

Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27.

The fighting continued into October 2020, in the early days of which Armenia has launched missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities of Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi as well as Absheron district.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.