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AD;Nagorno-Karabakh, on the brink of the abyss;"At first glance, there are nothing but craters and ruins in Sushi, all under a smokescreen rising from a nearby forest. The fire is said to have been caused by a phosphorus bombing on Friday. The video images taken then point in this direction.On September 27, Azerbaijan launched an offensive to end the longest-running conflict in the former Soviet Union. Its collapse unfolded a rosary of conflicts, from Moldova to Tajikistan, and since then Nagorno-Karabakh has been a cartographic anomaly, a predominantly Armenian mountainous enclave in Azerbaijani territory. This sparked a war (in the early 1990s) that was won by Armenians and forced the displacement of more than half a million Azerbaijanis. Three decades later, the latter seem determined to return, stay and, of course, expel the former winners. And Sushi (Susha, for Azerbaijanis) is key in this war. From here you can bomb Stepanakert, the capital of the enclave, and also cut off the road that connects it with Armenia. It is the true umbilical cord on which Karabakh depends.We are still looking for life in Sushi when suddenly a woman sticks her head out of the balcony of a seemingly dilapidated building. She says she is about to leave, they have just called her to evacuate her, but she invites us up and has a coffee.""This is my brother's flat. I had a beautiful farm and house, but the bombs ended up destroying them, ”he says, in a conversation constantly interrupted by the phone. Her family is waiting for her in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, but Zoya does not want to leave. The youngest of his three children is at the front and could never return. Are you right: how can the Armenian infantry cope with a drone-managed rain of fire? These are the rules of the game for over a month now.From Zoya’s brother’s balcony you can see Stepanakert in the valley and the historic Sushi Ghazanchetsots Church. It was bombed on October 7. Zoya says most of her neighbors fled then. Fortunately, no children were left here when the bombs hit the school a few days later, nor was anyone at the cultural center bombed on Thursday. We saw the rows of red armchairs, today covered in dust and lined up under an open canal roof.The excuse for Azerbaijanis to bomb hospitals (the last was Stepanakert's maternity ward on Thursday), shopping malls and other civilian targets is for their rival to raise military targets alongside them. We haven't seen any of this.Thirty years of conflict""It's genocide, that's all,"" says Zoya, before recapping the story that dragged her to this corner of the Caucasus. He was 28 years old when he arrived from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, in 1988, the year the Armenians of Sumgayit (a city bordering Baku) suffered a pogrom that historians say was the spark that it ignited the war of the 1990s. Zoya recalls arriving in Yerevan on December 6, 1988, just on the eve of the earthquake that killed dozens of Armenians. He arrived here still in shock from the hasty flight, crossing a land that was literally shaking beneath his feet. In Sushi there was a place to stay, because the Azerbaijanis, who were mostly in the city at the time, also ran for their lives, but in the opposite direction. Population exchanges have since been painfully chained between the two former Soviet republics, and after centuries of peaceful coexistence, it is almost impossible to find Azerbaijanis in Armenia or Armenians in Azerbaijan.The war continues. There is talk of ""hundreds"" of civilians killed, but the numbers always dance to the sound of propaganda. Foreign ministers from both countries met in Geneva on Friday, and while both sides pledged to avoid civilian targets, the meeting did nothing but certify what several analysts already take for granted: while Armenia expects a ceasefire, Azerbaijan only seeks victory. He is flanked by a Turkey today embarked on an aggressive foreign policy that strikes from Libya to this corner of the Caucasus, through Syria.After asking for help from Russia, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received a response from Moscow yesterday: ""The necessary assistance"" will be provided if fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in Karabakh spread to Armenian territory. In Stepanakert, Artak Beglaryan, the Ombudsman of Karabakh, speaks of a ""humanitarian catastrophe.""""They have control of the air given to them by their technology and the support of Erdogan [the Turkish president]. The international community also has mechanisms to stop this, but it does nothing, ”said the 32-year-old Karabakh, who was left blind by a landmine when he was 6. The war not only does not end, but it is increasingly more to remember when it started.";E
AD;The war is over but Armenia is approaching the abyss;"Miatsum, miatsum! (Drive, drive!), Hundreds of people shout in front of the Armenian government headquarters in Yerevan, the capital. It was early yesterday morning when a post by Nikol Paixinian, the Armenian prime minister, on his Facebook account pushed a wave of people into the streets, enraged and disappointed. After six weeks of trying to deal with the attacks of the Azerbaijani army on the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Armenia finally showed the flag of surrender. ""It is a difficult and incredibly painful decision,"" the president apologized for the document he had signed with the Azerbaijani president and also with the Russian, Vladimir Putin, the day before at noon. The agreed end of hostilities - in which Putin has played a key role - benefits the interests of Azerbaijan, which has taken control of part of the region since the escalation of the conflict on September 27. past. Some privileges that he will keep.“Why am I here now? Are you kidding me? ”Replies an offended Armenian in his 50s. Beside him, a 32-year-old computer scientist apologizes. The Vahak - it is said - explains that everyone is very nervous, that no one expected ""a similar act of betrayal."" ""They spent six weeks telling us lies, making sure everything was going well [at the front], that they were regaining control of the situation. How do they want us to take it? ”He adds.And he is right. After a ten-day coverage of Nagorno-Karabakh at war, ARA has been able to verify that press releases on the situation at the front contrasted with what this reporter has seen on the ground. “There have been numerous casualties among the enemy ranks and the morale of our soldiers is high,” said the latest paper, dated Monday, November 9, just hours before Paixinian’s faltering. Just an hour after the prime minister's message, the first protesters began to break the windows of the government headquarters, throwing stones or any equally blunt object. Three protesters then managed to enter the building and opened the door. The result? The crowd entered the headquarters.It has been an assault ""in Armenia,"" in an almost orderly and unhurried manner, like one walking through a museum. Anna, a 24-year-old girl, was studying and working in Germany when she launched the Azerbaijan offensive, which claims the territories that Armenia occupied during the 1994 war. This generation, she says, was born in 2000. in 2001, in 2002 ..., ""thousands have died for nothing!"". The death toll ranges from the one thousand casualties recognized by Armenians to the more than 5,000 total recorded from Moscow.After a moment of tension caused by a collective reprimand against a teenager who has ripped a painting off the wall, most conclude that there is nothing left to do there. His steps now lead to Parliament, about a twenty minute walk away. This reporter comes across Neil Hauer, a Canadian analyst and Caucasian expert based in Tbilisi for three years. Let us review the controversial agreement that has infuriated an important part of the Armenians: a ceasefire has been agreed between the two sides, the exchange of prisoners, the gradual return of the seven adjacent and Azeri-majority districts until the war of the 1990s. including the city of Sushi, taken a few days ago by enemy troops - as well as the deployment of Russian peacekeepers and the re-establishment of the road connecting the enclave with Armenia.""It's the best deal the Armenians could aspire to given the speed with which they were losing the war to a much more powerful army. However, we still don't know what the final status of Karabakh will be,"" says Hauer, now facing. of an increasingly full staircase of Parliament. In fact, the agreement was reached after the Azerbaijani army regained control of Sushi, the second largest city in the region, and set out to storm the capital, Stepanakert, just 11 kilometers away.Meanwhile, the crowd also takes the interior of the Armenian Parliament. “We will kill the traitor of Paixinian!” Someone shouts with a cigar in his hand from the grandstand of the chamber. Protesters also manage to enter the offices, where they force drawers and cupboards. And they take everything they find: a coffee pot, a leather jacket ... everything is worth it, also a ball that a boy has rescued from a bin. It is the beginning of a new era.";N
AD;"Bombs rain on Stepanakert: ""All we want is peace""";Residents of the capital Nagorno-Karabakh are protecting themselves from projectiles in basements.;A
AT;Armenia-Azerbaijan border fighting escalates: 16 killed;"Armenia and Azerbaijan forces fought Tuesday with heavy artillery and drones, leaving at least 16 people killed on both sides, including an Azerbaijani general, in the worst outbreak of hostilities in years.Skirmishes on the volatile border between the two South Caucasus nations began Sunday. Azerbaijan said it has lost 11 servicemen and one civilian in three days of fighting, and Armenia said four of its troops were killed Tuesday.The two neighbors in the South Caucasus have been locked in conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan that has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. International efforts to settle the conflict have stalled.Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have frequently engaged in clashes. The current skirmishes appear to mark the most serious spike in hostilities since 2016 when scores were killed in four days of fighting.The latest incident began Sunday when Armenian and Azerbaijani troops exchanged fire in the northern section of their border. Officials in both countries blamed each other for starting the fighting and said that sporadic shelling has continued.Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said two senior officers, Maj. Gen. Polad Hashimov and Col. Ilgar Mirzayev, were killed in fighting Tuesday along with five other servicemen.Armenian officials claimed that Azerbaijani drones launched an attack on the Tuvush province town of Berd, targeting civilian infrastructure. Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said that one of Azerbaijani drones was downed.Stepanyan also charged that the Azerbaijani military used civilians as shields, placing artillery close to the village of Dondar Gushchu in the Tovuz district about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border.""The Azerbaijani side has surrounded its own population with artillery batteries, making them a target, and then complained that the Armenian forces fired in that direction,” she said on Facebook where she posted images of the Azerbaijani artillery around the village.The Azerbaijani military denied losing a drone and in turn claimed that its forces shot down an Armenian drone and destroyed an Armenian artillery system along with its crew.As hostilities continued, Armenia also accused Azerbaijan of launching cyberattacks on Armenian government websites.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday accused Azerbaijan of provoking the clashes and warned that it would “bear responsibility for the unpredictable consequences.” Azerbaijani President Ilhan Aliyev denounced what he described as “another provocation of Armenia” and vowed to protect Azerbaijan’s national territory.Turkey, which has close ethnic and cultural ties with Azerbaijan, has voiced strong support to Baku in the conflict.The United States and Russia, which co-chair the Minsk group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that has tried to negotiate a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, have condemned the violence and called for restraint.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had separate calls with his counterparts in Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday to call for an immediate ceasefire.Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Tuesday that Moscow was “deeply worried” about the fighting and stands ready to play mediator.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed worry. His spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a statement that the U.N. chief “urges an immediate end to the fighting and calls on all involved to take immediate steps to deescalate the situation and refrain from provocative rhetoric.”";E
AT;Armenia speaks of a major attack in Nagorno-Karabakh;"Azerbaijan's ground troops launched a large-scale attack in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region on Saturday, according to the Armenian government. Azerbaijani troops had advanced ""with strong units"" from both the north and the south, said the Ministry of Defense in Yerevan. It spoke of ""fierce fighting"". The two warring states have been fighting for days over the area in Azerbaijan controlled by Armenia.Three Azerbaijanis fighter planes were shot down. This information could not be confirmed by an independent source, Azerbaijan denied the shooting down of the aircraft.The days of fighting go far beyond the skirmishes that have raged in the region for years. According to Armenian sources, well over 200 people were killed in the fighting in the South Caucasus in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, there was different information. Azerbaijan recently reported 19 civilians dead and 60 injured.According to the Armenian representation, Azerbaijan has drawn together further forces in the conflict area. Baku initially did not confirm this. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said after a phone call with his French colleague Emmanuel Macron that his army had liberated occupied territories. At the same time, he accused the neighboring country of obstructing negotiations to resolve the conflict.Fragile ceasefire since 1994The two ex-Soviet republics have been fighting for decades for the mountainous region, in which around 145,000 people live. Nagorno-Karabakh is controlled by Armenia, but under international law it belongs to the Islamic part of Azerbaijan. In a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union some 30 years ago, Azerbaijan lost control of the area. It is now inhabited by Christian Karabakh Armenians. A fragile ceasefire has existed since 1994.The ""President"" of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is not internationally recognized as a state, Araik Haratjunian, said he met with soldiers last night. The Armenian media reported that he also went to the front. There he is needed more than ""behind"", Harutjunian said. ""We will defend our homeland with honor.""";N
AT;Baku and Yerevan report fighting again;"Regardless of international appeals to comply with the new ceasefire, the heavy fighting around the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh continues, according to authorities. The warring neighboring countries Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of massive shelling in the conflict region on Tuesday.The authorities of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic announced that there was rocket and artillery fire from the Azerbaijani side. The Defense Ministry in the Azerbaijani capital Baku accused Armenia of firing first. Among other things, the Terter region is affected.""That is an absolute lie, Azerbaijan is preparing the ground for aggressive actions against peace-loving communities,"" said a spokeswoman for the Armenian Defense Ministry in Yerevan. The enemy had gone over to attack from all directions, it said.The number of civilians killed had risen to 31, the authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said. The number of Karabakh soldiers killed is 525. Azerbaijan has so far not provided any information on losses in its own ranks. Many civilians were also killed there.The Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the ceasefire agreed on Saturday night will not hold. The foreign ministers of the two countries reached the agreement through Russian mediation in Moscow, but it was broken shortly after it came into force. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged on Monday that the ceasefire be observed.The two ex-Soviet republics have been fighting for decades for the mountainous region, in which around 145,000 people live. Nagorno-Karabakh is controlled by Armenia, but under international law it belongs to the Islamic part of Azerbaijan. In a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union some 30 years ago, Azerbaijan lost control of the area. It is inhabited by Christian Karabakh Armenians. A fragile ceasefire has existed since 1994. Turkey is on the side of Azerbaijan in the conflict, while Armenia sees Russia as a protecting power. (apa, dpa)";E
BE;Azerbaijani missiles fall on the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh;Azerbaijani missiles hit the Nagorno-Karabakh capital Stepanakert on Saturday morning, an official in the separatist enclave said shortly before a ceasefire came into effect.“A few minutes ago, Azerbaijan hit civilian areas of Stepanakert again with missiles,” Artak Belgarian, the mediator of the self-proclaimed republic, said on Twitter, adding that there was no information on victims.An AFP reporter based in the city heard two explosions in the morning.The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on its part released a statement saying that “the Armenian armed forces are heavily bombing populated areas (…) Azerbaijan is taking reciprocal measures.”Armenia and Azerbaijan have for now agreed to a ceasefire starting at 08:00 GMT on Saturday.;N
BE;What ‘Petit Scenario’ does Europe have for reacting to the ongoing war in Nagorno-Karabakh?;In the early hours of September 27, the World, reluctantly preparing for the second phase of a global pandemic, woke up to the news of renewed fighting between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).What on first sight seemed, to some, something usual, happening from time to time, at a closer glance offered a fundamentally different picture, even when compared to the Four-day war of April 2016.This time it was different not only because the hostilities were taking place along the entire Line of Contact between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, but because one of the most important regional players was directly involved in the ‘Azerbaijani affair’, with its military personnel, weaponry, and even jihadist militants transferred from Libya and Syria.It was and still is dangerously different since this seemingly ‘Armenian-Azerbaijani matter’, if not stopped immediately, can potentially spill over into a full-blown war directly affecting the interests of an entire spectrum of regional actors, such as Russia, Turkey, Iran and even the EU and recently the rather disengaged US.Today is the 11th day of the war. And this morning has brought no good news for the peaceful population of Artsakh and its capital Stepanakert but renewed intensive shelling by Azerbaijan’s armed forces backed by Turkey. The violations of the International Humanitarian Law on the side of Azerbaijan are serious – use of prohibited cluster bombs, and the targeting of civilians, including reporters and civilian infrastructure.Today is the 11th day of the war and Azerbaijani leader Aliyev and its ‘Big Brother’ and fellow Turkish President Erdogan are still rejecting the unanimous calls of the international community, including the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries Presidents (France, Russia and the US) to immediately cease the hostilities and resume negotiations. Meanwhile, the Armenian side, echoing these calls, signalled its readiness to engage in meaningful discussions in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship without preconditionsAzerbaijan’s leader has long been criticizing the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format, which is the only internationally agreed format for mediating the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, that has originated not in 1988 as erroneously presented by many, but in 1921, when with Joseph Stalin the ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh was put under the jurisdiction of Soviet Azerbaijan. So, what is Aliyev’s alternative to the Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, which is comprised of three out of five UN SC permanent members and is supported by everyone (including in the recent statement of the UNSC) except for the aggressors. Turkey?In fact, the Turkish support that had so much emboldened the Azeri leader, sunk in domestic grievances, proved itself more of a fool’s gold rather than a factor ensuring Azerbaijan’s rapid victory.The international community is clearly disapproving of Turkish direct involvement in the conflict. President Macron of France dispelled all doubts by confirming the presence of mercenaries from Syria and Libya on the ground fighting alongside Azerbaijan and imported by Turkey. This was later confirmed by other regional actors as well. President Macron, was also clear in his message that Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh and Armenia had no justification.Still, the rest of the world and the international community seem somewhat reluctant to call directly on Azerbaijan to stop the hostilities and take a seat around the negotiations table. They rather prefer sticking to the good-old ‘call on all sides’ wherever possible.  This is a risky choice both because of Azerbaijan’s and especially Turkey’s increasingly aggressive behaviour in the region, and because strictly speaking you cannot require from the side that is legitimately and lawfully exercising its right to self-defence against an aggressor to put the arms aside, before ensuring that the latter has stopped shooting.It is time for the international community to act decisively and to send a clear message to Azerbaijan and Turkey that this has to stop. After all, decision-makers should not forget that Turkey is not just any country that is directly attacking Armenia and Artsakh, but a NATO member state.Moreover, once the arms are finally down, the EU should carefully reconsider the ongoing negotiations of the new EU-Azerbaijan strategic partnership agreement and its substance. Any further decision on the matter will be a real test for the EU to prove its unconditional commitment to the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.;E
BE;Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Armenian bombing kills seven in Azerbaijan;Seven people were killed in bombings in the city of Gandja in Azerbaijan overnight, Azerbaijani ministry said Sunday, accusing the Armenian forces of breaking the cease-fire supposed to have begun yesterday.“A new missile attack by Armenian forces on a residential area in Gandja, Azerbaijan’s second biggest city, seven dead and 33 wounded,” the Foreign Minister announced on its Twitter account, posting photos of the destruction.Nagorno-Karabakh defence ministry immediately denied having bombed Gandja. “This is an absolute lie,” assuring they “respect the humanitarian ceasefire agreement” and accusing the Azerbaijani side of having hit “Stepanakert, Hadrut, Martouni and other civilian areas.”The capital of the breakaway region, Stepanakert, was struck overnight from Saturday to Sunday, according to AFP journalists on the spot who counted three to four waves of shelling, followed by a dozen explosions.A humanitarian truce to allow for the exchange of bodies of soldiers and prisoners came into effect at noon on Saturday, but the two sides accuse each other of not sticking to it.;A
BG;Hundreds of Dead Armenian Soldiers Shown in Nagorno-Karabakh;"The bodies of dozens of Armenian soldiers were found on several sections of a mountain road in Nagorno-Karabakh as a convoy of Russian peacekeepers entered, a Reuters video reported.Cars with shrapnel wholes, a burned tank and damaged military vehicles reveal how fierce and ruthless the battles were on the way to the town of Shushi, the area's ""spiritual center"" captured on November 8th, the agency's operator said.One of the dead was simply abandoned in the middle of the road and the column surrounded him. Elsewhere, several bodies, including those with bandages and turnstiles, hang from a car that looks like a military ambulance, the eyewitness added.The video footage, shows a section in which almost 100 bodies of Armenians were thrown into the ditch within 100-200 meters. Bodies of dozens of killed Armenians lie by the road in Nagorno Karabakh.Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin said there were more than 4,000 killed in both countries in the conflict, including civilians, 8,000 wounded and thousands driven from their homes. Reuters reports that trucks and cars loaded with people and household items are heading to Armenia. Russia has nearly 2,000 troops with tanks and armored vehicles to ensure compliance with the ceasefire. The government in Yerevan has accepted large concessions under pressure from a military offensive by Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey.";E
BH;Azerbaijan and BiH are Partners, Friendly and Fraternal Countries;Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to BiH Eldar Humbat Oglu Hasanov told reporters in Sarajevo today that Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina are partners, friendly and fraternal countries.“Our histories have had similarities in problems, and both of our countries were part of some larger state,” said Ambassador Hasanov, who was one of the participants of the conference “How to Connect the East and the West” organized by the Association of Independent Intellectuals “Circle 99” on the occasion the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan and the 75th anniversary of the restoration of the BiH statehood.Today, he said, “we are developing in the fields of economy, politics, culture, science, education, tourism …” He added that Azerbaijan cooperates with BiH in the sphere of energy, citing projects like TANAP and TAP.“Azerbaijan was, it is and will be a worthy friend to the people of BiH,” said Ambassador Hasanov and wished citizens of BiH prosperity, peace, dialogue, cooperation, and success.President of “Circle 99” Adil Kulenović said that the sessions, held on the occasion of the centenary of the Republic of Azerbaijan and 75 years of restoration of the Bosnian statehood at the session of ZAVNOBIH in 1943, are coming at a time of worrying turbulences in the modern world.“Both Azerbaijan and BiH, which are often treated as the West to the East and the East to the West, and must be sensible politically, economically and culturally, globally speaking, the relations of the East and the West, the linking of the East and the West, for the sake of peace in the world, but also preserving the stability of our own countries,” said Kulenović.He assessed that Baku and Sarajevo have a long tradition of mutual connections and development of good and friendly relations.Academician Slavo Kukić told reporters that BiH and Azerbaijan shared a common fate over the past 100 years, “because both of them were in state alliances and emerged out of them carrying their own wounds.”He added that Azerbaijan today has Nagorno Karabakh as its wound, “while BiH has its politicians from the top of the state pyramid who today say that they are just working here,  but that their homeland is somewhere else.”“I personally believe that both Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina will overcome these wounds and that they will manage to build normal societies respecting what their citizens want,” said Kukić.;A
BH;Political Relations between BiH and the Republic of Azerbaijan are Excellent;Chairman of the Presidency of BiH Bakir Izetbegovic met in Istanbul with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and they discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries in a friendly conversation. They agreed that political relations between BiH and the Republic of Azerbaijan are excellent.Chairman Izetbegovic invited President Aliyev to visit BiH on the fall of this year and solemnly open a factory for processing of fruits and vegetables in Sevarlije near Doboj, in whose construction Azerbaijan invested their funds.President Aliyev accepted the invitation to visit BiH and emphasized that there is a room for improvement of economic cooperation, and that the investment in Sevarlije near Doboj is only the beginning and a good basis for the continuation of Azerbaijan’s investments in BiH.Special attention was paid on the possibilities of further improvement of economic cooperation between the two countries, and they also discussed the possibilities of further investment from Azerbaijan. Regarding this, the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH and President Aliyev agreed that in the coming period BiH will submit concrete suggestions for possible projects for investments from Azerbaijan.Chairman Izetbegovic shared his concerns with President Aliyev over the recent renewal of the conflict in the province of Nagorno-Karabakh. He recalled the resolution of the House of Peoples of BiH from 2014, and expressed his full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the legitimate right and efforts of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the reconstruction of sovereignty on its entire territory.;A
BH;Dzaferovic sends Letter of Condolence to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan;Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sefik Dzaferovic sent a letter of condolence to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev after the suffering of his country’s citizens in the artillery attack of the Armenian Armed Forces.“Please convey my deep condolences to the families of those killed in the artillery attack of the Armed Forces of Armenia in the area of Tovuz, in the border area of Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Dzaferovic stated, adding that the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict poses a serious threat to regional peace with far-reaching consequences.He added that he hopes that the situation will calm down and that a lasting, peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would be reached in accordance with the existing UN Security Council resolutions.;A
BH;Co-Chairs emphasized the Importance of Maintaining an Atmosphere conducive to Peace;The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America)‎ met separately and jointly via video conference on 29-30 June with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov to discuss the public health situation in the region, current dynamics in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and next steps in the peace process. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (PRCIO) Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated in these discussions.The Co-Chairs emphasized the importance of promoting and maintaining an atmosphere conducive to peace and favorable to substantive negotiations. They assessed positively the relative stability on the ground and expressed satisfaction that the sides continue to use existing direct communication links to avoid escalation. Recalling their statement of 9 March, 2019, however, the Co‑Chairs noted with concern that recent provocative statements, inflammatory rhetoric, and possible steps intended to change the situation on the ground in tangible ways could undermine the settlement process.The Co-Chairs stressed that there is no military solution to the conflict. They urged the sides to take additional steps to strengthen the ceasefire and to prepare the populations for peace. The Co-Chairs also stressed the urgency of resuming monitoring exercises under the leadership of the PRCIO as soon as conditions allow.The Co‑Chairs and Foreign Ministers‎ agreed to hold another joint video conference in July and to meet in person as soon as possible.;N
CZ;"The Armenian Prime Minister signed an agreement on the end of the Karabakh war. ""It was difficult,"" he said";"Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pasinjan has announced that he has signed an agreement with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Reuters and Interfax reported. Information about the signing of the agreement on the end of the fighting was also confirmed by the Kremlin, Baku has not yet commented. The current conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out on September 27 and was the worst since the 1990s.""Dear citizens, brothers and sisters, I have made an extremely difficult decision for myself and for all of us,"" Pasinjan said on Facebook. The agreement to ""end the Karabsh War"", which he signed with Putin and Aliyev, came into force on Tuesday from 1:00 local time (Monday 22:00 CET). The details of the agreement are not yet known, Pašinjan wants to announce them in the ""coming days"".The terms set out in the peace agreement were described by the Armenian prime minister as ""painful"". ""I made this decision based on an in-depth analysis of the combat situation,"" he said, according to Interfax. At the same time, he expressed his belief that, in the current situation, signing the agreement was the best solution.""This is not a victory. But there is no loss if you do not consider yourself a loser. And we will never consider ourselves a loser,"" the Armenian prime minister also said. According to him, this moment is the beginning of the ""era of national unity and revival"".Pasinjan signed an agreement with Russia and Azerbaijan after the Karabakh authorities today admitted that they did not control the second largest city of Shusha, stating that Azerbaijani troops were advancing on the regional metropolis of Stepanakert.The current fighting for Nagorno-Karabakh broke out on September 27, killing several thousand people. The dispute over the enclave in southwestern Azerbaijan with a predominantly Armenian population has lasted for decades. Armed conflict broke out in 1988 during the Soviet era. Nagorno-Karabakh, with the support of Armenia, broke away from Azerbaijan in a war that claimed 30,000 dead and hundreds of thousands of refugees. Until now, Karabakh and the surrounding area were under the military control of Armenia. Azerbaijan considers the territory to be occupied.";N
CZ;Fighting has broken out in Nagorno-Karabakh, with Yerevan and Baku reporting heavy losses;"Both sides are blamed for the escalation of the conflict. ""Azerbaijan has launched an open attack, fighting is going on along the entire border with Nagorno-Karabakh,"" Arcrun Ovannisjan, a spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Defense, said on Saturday morning. ""They're dead on both sides,"" he added later on his Facebook profile.""In addition to fighting on the front line, the enemy shelled civilian communities and military barracks. At the moment, fighting is taking place intensively along the entire front line, ""says the Karabakh authorities. According to them, rocket fire claimed the life of twelve-year-old Vaginak Grigorjan, and two other children were injured. According to Armenian army officials, the fight will end in a ""clear defeat"" of Azerbaijan.According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, the Armenian armed forces violated the agreed ceasefire and shelled the disputed territory 127 times in the past 24 hours, writes the RIA server.According to the Kavkaz-Uzel server, which refers to a statement from the Karabakh Ministry of Defense, the Azerbaijani army lost three tanks and two drones. In the afternoon, Azerbaijan admitted that it lost one tank, a Mi-24 helicopter and a dozen soldiers in the fighting, writes the Russian agency RIA Novosti.However, the Ministry of Defense said that its troops had conquered several settlements and strategic heights near the villages of Füzuli and Horadiz. Azerbaijani troops are reportedly now building trenches in new positions. ""In the fight, we destroyed six Armenian tanks, fifteen artillery devices and several engineering structures,"" said ministry spokesman Vagif Dargachli. According to him, more than a hundred enemy soldiers were killed in the fighting.In the evening, Armenian President Sergeant Sargasyan announced that eighteen Armenian soldiers had been killed and another 35 wounded. Sargasjan interrupted his stay at the Washington nuclear summit and flew to his homeland, where the Armenian government met due to the escalation of the conflict.Eduard Sharmazanov, Vice-President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, described Azerbaijan's actions as an act of terrorism directed not only against Armenia but also against all member countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). According to Sharmazanov, the international community should intervene against such actions, writes the Artsakh Press server.Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an immediate ceasefire. ""The president calls on the opposing parties to end the fire immediately and to exercise restraint in order to prevent further casualties,"" Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed. Concerns have also been expressed by the OSCE, which wants to convene a meeting due to the escalation of years of smoky conflict.A long-standing disputeThe Nagorno-Karabakh dispute has deep roots in history. In the 1920s, the Soviets attributed this predominantly Armenian area to Azarbaijan, which laid the foundations for the bloody conflict that ignited during the collapse of the USSR.The war, which cost 30,000 lives, was started in 1988 by an incident in which pogroms broke out in Armenia in response to the killing of two young Azeris. The war dragged on for six years, and the signing of the ceasefire agreement of 12 May 1994 brokered by Russia is said to be the official end.The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said a few weeks ago that, with the proliferation of clashes, a ceasefire in the region was unsustainable in the long term. If there was a war, the situation on the battlefield would probably be far more balanced than in the 1990s. At that time, Armenia had the upper hand.Although Azerbaijan could benefit from economic dominance, Armenia was politically united, had a better-equipped army, and could count on Moscow's support (read more about the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute here).Currently, Nagorno-Karabakh is under military control of Armenia. The republic, declared by local Armenians and occupying part of Azerbaijan's territory, has not been recognized internationally. The territory is recognized only by the Armenian government.Current debates on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute are going nowhere. Baku threatens to recapture the disputed area if diplomacy does not lead to a result, and Armenia replies that it will militarily oppose any such attempt (you can see how the two states with military power are doing here).Russia has a military base in Armenia, and Yerevan, due to an alliance with Russia, refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union and joined the Moscow-led economic community.";E
CZ;What is it all about in the Nagorno-Karabakh war?;"In the South Caucasus, war over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave flared up again. From the point of view of Azerbaijan, it is an enclave on its own territory, which under the Soviet regime was called the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. In the terminology of the Stalinist constitution of the 1930s, it was a lower degree of national autonomy, over which stood the autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which territorial designation bore some territories within the so-called Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Today 's Tatarstan, Bashkortostan or Dagestan, all enclaves with a predominance of Sunni Muslim populations, in terms of etrnicity in the first two cases of Turkic in the third ethnically mixed composition.The highest degree was the Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). There were three in the South Caucasus, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian. Let's set aside the complicated administrative set-up of the GSSR and focus on the two remaining SSRs. There, an enclave was created in the territory of the Azerbaijani SSR with a predominantly Armenian population of the above name. Not entirely, Armenians are the oldest Christian nation in the world, while Azerbaijanis are Turkish Muslims, this time Shiite. However, a number of ethnic Muslim minorities also live in Azerbaijan itself.An ingenious administrative solution according to the principle of divide and rule in the Bolshevik design.Not only did the so-called Soviet republics lose vital economic ties after the collapse of the USSR in the economic connection of the communist imperial colossus with the move from all over Moscow, but in this case it was also sown to ignite national passions.By keeping them in check on the ""joint building of communism"", Moscow secured the loyalty of these entities.Even before the collapse of the USSR, the resentment between Azerbaijan and Armenia flared up. It culminated in the war in the early 1990s, when the now stronger Armenia occupied part of Azerbaijan's territory to connect with Nagorno-Karabakh. Ethnic cleansing took place, and both countries were filled with refugees. For Azerbaijan, it has since been a direct sacred goal to recapture the occupied territories, and Armenia's sacred goal is to maintain its gains. For almost a quarter of a century, hatred has erupted in both nations (the author still remembers the days when Baku was Armen's second largest city: he himself lived in a district popularly called an Armenian village.).The Russian Federation, like the rest of the disintegrated imperial colossus, recovered from Putin's time due to expensive oil and gas, and the goal of its existence is to conquer or control the territories it had to leave after the collapse of communism (certainly including former Eastern European colonies).Thus, in the Karabakh conflict, Russia is concerned with maintaining and strengthening its influence in one of the ""near abroad"" areas. Poor Armenia, blocked by Turkey, had no choice but to accept Russian protection, becoming part of the Kremlin's Eurasian community. Azerbaijan has oil and gas, which not only brings it wealth, greater maneuverability, but also other external influences. He tries to balance them, but he definitely doesn't want to mess with Russia. As a secular state on the border with Iran (where, by the way, most of the Azerbaijani ethnic group lives, including some of Iran's top clerics), it has close, especially arms relations with Israel, and the United States has a role to play. Recently, however, the growing aggression of the Turkish neosultan Erdoğan has been trying to exploit every loophole in the region's power balance.Russia's relations with Armenia may have been weakened by the latest in a series of ""colorful"" revolutions in the countries of the former Soviet empire. On the other hand, Azerbaijan has strengthened its military power and is becoming a new object of Erdoğan's imperial appetites. After the Islamist mercenary strikes in northern Syria and Libya, this time he had the opportunity to strengthen his influence with the ethnic brothers by inciting Azerbaijani militancy. Here, however, not only does he clash with Russia as in Syria and Libya, but he ""climbs into his cabbage"" directly.He would like to seize the opportunity that the previous republican-nationalist regime in Turkey had to seize. He can't get in trouble with Russia. Erdogan's jihadist mercenaries, who he says he sends to the war against the Armenians, may also be a problem there. Not only because Russia is extremely picky about Islamist terrorism (it has bloody experience with it), but as it turns out, some of Erdogan's jihadist mercenaries are said to see a greater enemy than the Christian Armenians in Azerbaijani Shiites. The murderous hatred between two branches of the same religion that Europe went through around the Battle of White Mountain, which marks its 400th anniversary this year.In short, notwithstanding Azerbaijan's legitimate territorial demands and the Armenians' sense of threat to their identity (the trauma of their genocide comes to life as the Turks intervene in the conflict), both tortured nations are now trapped in Russian-Turkish imperial rivalry, many years of frozen conflict will be difficult to break out.Sadly, Erdoğan takes these nations hostage to distract his own population from his country's catastrophic economic situation, which he himself has caused.Additional note: Russia negotiated a ceasefire between the two rival countries and, according to a BBC report, rejected Azerbaijani President Aliyev's request to join Turkey in peace talks on the grounds that Turkey was a party to the conflict. Russia, of course, does not intend to allow Erdogan to interfere in his privileged sphere of influence. The situation is fundamentally different from the 1990s, when Turkey began to flirt with the expansion into ethnically relatedareas of the former Soviet empire. Putin's Russia is at least significantly stronger militarily than in Yeltsin's time, but on the other hand, Erdogan, who established an Islamist regime in Turkey, is also strengthening his imperial appetites. Russia will not allow this danger to be drawn into its territorial sphere. Certainly, population growth and the radicalization of Sunni's own Muslim population are enough for him.";E
CZ;Karabakh fights on two fronts. In places of fighting, the disease is spreading explosively;"Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in southwestern Azerbaijan with a predominantly Armenian population, faces the greatest escalation of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the 1994 conflict. Several hundred people were killed in three weeks. The fighting was not stopped even by repeated attempts at a truce.The conflict diverted the region's meager resources from managing the epidemic, which spread uncontrollably in the first two weeks of the clashes.They broke out on September 27. Contact tracing has stopped. Intense artillery and rocket attacks drove people into overcrowded shelters, where it was not possible to separate the infected from the healthy. The infection hit paramedics particularly hard.Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in southwestern Azerbaijan with a predominantly Armenian population, faces the greatest escalation of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the 1994 conflict. Several hundred people were killed in three weeks. The fighting was not stopped even by repeated attempts at a truce.The conflict diverted the region's meager resources from managing the epidemic, which spread uncontrollably in the first two weeks of the clashes.Patients with coronavirus lie at the Infectious Diseases Clinic in Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh. (October 20, 2020)A nurse takes a sample of a man in a shelter in Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh. (October 20, 2020)Armenian soldiers fighting in the front line against Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (October 21, 2020)Dr. Aram Gregorjan, who volunteered to take refuge from the shelling, said the cramped conditions in the shelters helped spread coronavirus. (October 16, 2020)They broke out on September 27. Contact tracing has stopped. Intense artillery and rocket attacks drove people into overcrowded shelters, where it was not possible to separate the infected from the healthy. The infection hit paramedics particularly hard.""It simply came to our notice then. In some cases, the disease broke out in a mild form, in others in a more serious one, ""said Malvina Badaljanovová, who runs a clinic for the infected in the regional metropolis of Stepanakert, about Karabakh medics.There is nothing to do but continue workingIn the middle of the war, when the hospital was flooded with an influx of wounded, there is nothing to do but continue to work. ""Many doctors and nurses knew they were infected, but they kept quiet about it,"" Ararat Ohanjanjan, the health minister of the unrecognized Karabakh Republic, told the AP.""They may lie down in a corner until they have a fever, but then they get up and continue to operate. No one has the right to stand aside now, ""he added.""We did not have time to track down the infected when Stepanakert came under fire, and this allowed the spread of the disease,"" the minister said. He himself had a positive test a week ago, but he also continued to work, despite the fever and pneumonia.The shelling of Stepanakert had eased somewhat over the past week, and ambulance crews were finally able to visit shelters and cellars to search for those infected, Ohanjanjan said. He added that it was possible to resume testing and isolation of the infected.Authorities have no idea how many people have become infected so farPatients in the most serious condition were sent to Armenia, while others were treated in local hospitals or at home. However, Ohanjanjan admitted that the authorities still have no more accurate idea of ​​how many people have become infected so far.Armenia, which supports the separatist region across the land corridor, has also seen a sharp increase in coronavirus infections in recent weeks. The seven-day average of the daily increments of infection has almost tripled since the beginning of October to 44 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants by 20 October.As Nagorno-Karabakh's health sector faced enormous problems, ordinary residents and paramedics volunteered to supply medicines to people in shelters and to help track down those who became infected.Conditions in the shells helped to spread the coronavirusDr. Aram Gregorjan, who voluntarily visited the shelter from the shelling, said that the tight conditions in the shelters helped to spread the coronavirus.""Constant shelling forces people to stay crammed into basements. They cannot isolate themselves. Even those who have a fever and clinical signs of covid-19 cannot be treated or go to the hospital, ""he said.Irina Musajeljanová from Stěpanakert hid in the cellar together with her neighbors. According to her, the war pushed the pandemic into the background. ""We just don't have time to think about coronavirus,"" she said.""People have become infected, but we will survive. The main thing is that there is no war here, ""said Arevik Israeljan, who came to visit her husband, who was hospitalized with covid-19. According to her, the disease is a problem, but people are now far more concerned about the war. Even at the Infectious Diseases Clinic in Stepanakert, patients with coronavirus were forced to take refuge in the basement.";N
CZ;Shameful peace, Armenians are furious. In Karabakh, however, they were heading for total defeat;News of Russia-mediated peace has sparked a storm of resentment in Armenia. Several thousand angry people gathered in front of government buildings in the center of Yerevan on Tuesday night, who loudly expressed dissatisfaction with the terms of the agreement.Dozens of them stormed the building. Inside, they smashed doors and windows, and ripped a sign with his name from Prime Minister Pasinjan's office. Others stormed the parliament building and demanded the prime minister. They pulled the Speaker of Parliament out of the car and beat him.;N
DE;Federal Foreign Office on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict;A Federal Foreign Office Spokesperson issued the following statement on 17 October:The German Government again calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect the agreements reached on 10 and 17 October 2020 regarding a humanitarian ceasefire between the two countries, to immediately end all hostilities and to avoid further casualties at all costs. Armenia and Azerbaijan have committed to facilitating humanitarian assistance. They must now create conditions that enable humanitarian actors, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, to get the necessary aid to people affected by the conflict.It is now vital for Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately resume efforts towards finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict, based on the fundamental principles of conflict resolution. As a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, Germany reaffirms its support of the Co-Chairs of this group as they continue their endeavours to find a negotiated solution.;N
DE;Federal Foreign Office on the agreement of a humanitarian ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan;A Federal Foreign Office Spokesperson issued the following statement today (10 October) on the agreement of a humanitarian ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan:The Federal Government welcomes the agreement reached in Moscow on a humanitarian ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan and calls upon both sides to respect the ceasefire and ensure further casualties are absolutely avoided. We welcome the declared will of the two countries to begin substantive negotiations mediated by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and based on the fundamental principles of conflict resolution. We call upon Armenia and Azerbaijan to work intensively now on a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict.The Federal Government extends its thanks to the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group for their work to bring an end to the fighting and launch substantive talks. As a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, we reaffirm our support of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group as they continue their endeavours to find a negotiated solution.;N
DE;Nagorno-Karabakh: Russian army reports cease-fire breach;"Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating a peace deal that ended six weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.Several people were killed in an apparent attack by Azerbaijani forces at a military base in the restive Nagorno-Karabakh region, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported on Saturday, citing local officials.Separatist officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said the Azerbaijani military launched an attack late Friday that left three local ethnic Armenian servicemen injured. The attack comes just over a month after fighting ceased in the region. The Russian defense ministry, which has deployed peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh to monitor the peace accord, also reported a violation of the cease-fire.""One case of cease-fire violation was reported on December 11 in the Hadrut district,"" it said in a statement.The Armenian Defense Ministry confirmed the Azerbaijani army had attacked again, close to two villages in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that it was taking ""appropriate measures."" The ministry did not provide further information.In response, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev blamed Armenia for the new clashes and threatened to ""break its head with an iron fist.''""Armenia shouldn't try to start it all over again,'' Aliyev said during a meeting with top diplomats from the US and France. ''It must be very cautious and not plan any military action. This time, we will fully destroy them. It mustn't be a secret to anyone,"" he said.";E
DE;Armenia mourns Nagorno-Karabakh dead as PM faces calls to resign;"Armenians have begun three days of mourning to honor those killed in the recent fighting with Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, accused of mishandling the conflict, faces growing calls to step down.Thousands of Armenians, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, marched through the capital Yerevan on Saturday in memory of the soldiers killed in a six-week conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.""The entire nation has been through and is going through a nightmare,"" Pashinyan said in a video message before the march. ""Sometimes it seems that all of our dreams have been dashed and our optimism destroyed."" As Armenia began three days of mourning for the war that killed nearly 3,000 Armenians, Pashinyan faced growing calls from the opposition to step down over the handling of the conflict and what critics call a humiliating peace deal with Azerbaijan.The prime minister, accompanied by top officials, led a procession to the Yerablur military memorial cemetery in Yerevan to light incense on the graves of the fallen soldiers.What did Armenia agree to?The opposition, meanwhile, labeled the 45-year-old leader a ""traitor"" for agreeing to end the war in November with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Armenia cede swaths of the Nagorno-Karabakh region to Azerbaijan.The loss of land controlled by ethnic Armenian forces for more than a quarter of a century has angered Armenians, many of whom have been protesting against Pashinyan for weeks. Many critics chanted ""Nikol the traitor"" as the prime minister's convoy passed by, while some said he should have stayed away from the cemetery.""He must not desecrate the graves of our children,"" said Misak Avetisyan, who lost a son in the war.Heavy security was deployed at the cemetery, filled to the brink with Pashinyan's supporters who engaged in scuffles with his opponents. Pashinyan, whose wife and son were at the front during the conflict, has rejected the calls to resign. He has defended the peace deal as Armenia's only option to ensure Karabakh's survival.Opposition to stage national strikeLater on Saturday, about 20,000 opposition supporters also marched across the capital to commemorate the victims of the conflict.Armenia's opposition has called on its supporters to stage a national strike on December 22, at the end of the three-day mourning period, to pressure Pashinyan to step down.Pashinyan swept to power in a peaceful revolution in May 2018. But since the latest war, many accuse him of betraying Armenia's interests.Key public figures have joined calls for his resignation, including the influential head of Armenia's Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin, and 14 retired military generals who issued a statement on Saturday criticizing the government's handling of the conflict.""This war did not have to happen,"" said former prime minister Vazgen Manukyan, who the opposition says should replace Pashinyan.Armenia and Azerbaijan have for decades been engaged in a simmering conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The enclave is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has been controlled by ethnic Armenians for the past 30 years.The latest conflict over the disputed region erupted in late September, leaving more than 5,000 people dead, including civilians on both sides, and thousands more displaced.As part of the deal, Russia has deployed nearly2,000 peacekeeping troops to Karabakh for at least five years to monitor the peace agreement.";E
DE;Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan discloses troop deaths despite cease-fire;"Azerbaijan has said four of its soldiers have been killed, and accused Armenian-backed separatists of an ambush. The deaths would be major breach of the Nagorno-Karabakh cease-fire.Armenia and Azerbaijan have traded blame for breaking the terms of a cease-fire in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Azeri government said Sunday that four of its troops had been killed in Nagorno-Karabakh after a group of Armenian fighters ambushed its forces on November 26.The deaths are the first to be reported during the conflict's cease-fire, which has lasted more than a month. For its part, Armenia said that six separatist fighters were injured in clashes with Azerbaijan's troops after skirmishes broke out on Friday evening.The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted in September with clashes between Azerbaijan and separatists backed by Armenia over the mountainous region. Fighting supposedly ceased on November 10, thanks to a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Armenia cede parts of its territory. More than 5,000 people, including civilians, were killed during the fighting between the ex-Soviet rivals, who had previously gone to war in the 1990s over the mountainous region. Russia has deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers to the troubled region for at least five years, to monitor the peace deal and to facilitate the return of refugees. Moscow confirms cease-fire violation Responding to Armenian accusations, the Baku government said the clashes over the weekend had taken place in an area that fell under its control. It said its forces had carried out a military operation against enemy forces responsible for the deadly attacks on Azeri servicemen. But Armenia said its forces we simply repelling attempted intrusions by Azerbaijan's forces into territories supposed to remain under the control of the rebel province's government. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said Russian forces were not present in the area where the clashes broke out. Azerbaijan's State Security Service responded, saying ""unfounded accusations against the Azeri side and the Russian peacekeepers by some Armenian leaders and media"" were unacceptable. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev warned that Armenia ''shouldn't try to start it all over again.''''It must be very cautious and not plan any military action. This time, we will fully destroy them. It mustn't be a secret to anyone,"" Aliyev said. Russia's Defense Ministry reported that the cease-fire had been violated for the first time, but stayed silent on assigning blame. ";N
DE;Human Rights Commissioner Kofler on the situation in and around Nagorno‑Karabakh;Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance, issued the following statement today (24 November 2020) on the ceasefire and the provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in and around Nagorno-Karabakh:The reports and images in recent weeks and months from Nagorno-Karabakh have shocked us all. I welcome the ceasefire agreement reached on 9 November between Armenia and Azerbaijan after six weeks of bitter fighting, and urge all parties involved to safeguard human rights and adhere to international humanitarian law. Our topmost priority must now be to secure humanitarian assistance for those that need it. Efforts to this end must be anchored in the humanitarian principles of compassion, impartiality, neutrality and independence.I am grateful for the tireless commitment and work of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which the Federal Government has actively supported with funds totalling two million euro to date. In order for this assistance to reach those that need it, it is vital that the ICRC and other humanitarian organisations are granted full and unhindered humanitarian access to the local population.;N
DE;Foreign Minister Maas on the renewed massive clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan;Foreign Minister Heiko Maas issued the following statement today (27 September) on the renewed massive clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan:The news about renewed massive clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia along the entire line of conflict do alert me. There are already reports of civilian casualties on both sides. I call on the parties to the conflict to immediately stop all acts of fighting and especially the shelling of villages and cities.The conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region can only be resolved through negotiations. The OSCE Minsk group and its three co-chairs stand ready to facilitate this. Armenia and Azerbaijan must  refrain from violent acts immediately and move on to substantive negotiations.;N
DE;Armenia: Tens of thousands rally to demand PM's resignation over Azerbaijan pact;Protesters have once again called for Nikol Pashinyan to quit over a peace agreement with Azerbaijan. The Russia-brokered pact was agreed after weeks of fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region that left thousands dead.Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Armenia on Saturday to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in the biggest protest yet sparked by last month's agreement to end a recent territorial conflict with Azerbaijan.After six weeks of fighting which resulted in 4,600 deaths, Pashinyan signed a pact with Azerbaijan, ceding control of large parts of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The ceasefire deal, brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, came into force on November 10 and is kept in check by 2,000 peacekeepers deployed by the Kremlin.;E
DE;Speech by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to the German Bundestag at the topical debate on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh;The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which has flared up time and again in recent years, or indeed in recent decades, has boiled over into a hot war in recent weeks. All of us have been horrified to follow these developments, especially in the last few days. We have seen the use of missiles and rockets and also of heavy combat equipment. We have heard about the number of casualties, which is increasing every day. As always in a war, the civilian population is suffering in particular. The fighting is destroying bridges, villages, roads. Tens of thousands of people have already fled their homes, and their number is constantly growing. Well over a hundred civilians have already been killed by the violence, including in areas far beyond the conflict zones.Ladies and gentlemen, we are advocating two goals in particular with a view to putting an end to this suffering. Firstly, we must alleviate the most acute suffering of people on the ground. The Red Cross, currently the only aid organisation with access to the disputed areas, asked the international community for nine million euro in emergency assistance in mid-October. As a first step, Germany will provide two million euro to help those who have lost their homes, belongings and livelihoods entirely. However, I also want to say that we continue to stand ready to do more should this be required. I say this above all in view of the upcoming winter in the Caucasus, which is already threatening to worsen the supply situation for the people still further.Secondly, an immediate humanitarian ceasefire is all the more important. Azerbaijan and Armenia must put an end to the fighting – this isn’t something that not only we, but also the international community, are calling for – with no strings attached.Both the Federal Chancellor and I have made this abundantly clear to both countries, and also to other parties involved in this context, such as Turkey, time and again. This is also the unanimous message sent by the United Nations, the OSCE and the European Union to the warring parties. In the UN Security Council, we have unanimously called on Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent weeks – and this is by no means an everyday occurrence in the UN Security Council at the moment – to finally put an end to the hostilities and return to the negotiating table. We wish to thank and are lending our support to the OSCE, which, through the Minsk Group, we believe continues to play the pivotal mediating role.But despite all this unity at the international level, we have seen that the parties to the conflict are not changing tack at present. The humanitarian ceasefires brokered by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group, France, Russia and the US, were all broken within a very short space of time, most recently at the beginning of this week. We therefore have no choice but to turn up the international pressure on both parties to the conflict. Azerbaijan and Armenia must acknowledge at long last that a military solution to this long-standing conflict will not be accepted by the international community. A better negotiating position cannot be achieved on the battlefield. There is no alternative to a ceasefire and the commencement of fresh talks. Everyone must come to realise this, both the parties to the conflict and those who are otherwise involved. A signal must be sent by all stakeholders in the region that they too are playing a decisive role in ending the bloodshed.Ladies and gentlemen, a humanitarian ceasefire would only be a first step, of course. But it is, at the end of the day, a vital prerequisite for ensuring that a lasting, namely a political, solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is achieved at long last. As a member of the Minsk Group, Germany is ready to promote the substantial negotiations that are necessary for this and which were apparently not conceivable in the past. And I wish to say that Turkey must also live up to its responsibility as a member of the Minsk Group and do its part to bring about a peaceful solution at long last.The European Union can and will play an important role in this regard. After all, with its Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Eastern Partnership, it has instruments at its disposal to support political negotiations and, down the line, also economic reconstruction in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.Ladies and gentlemen, decision-makers in Yerevan and Baku and their supporters are ultimately faced with the choice of either fuelling a war that has already brought suffering and destruction to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and which can all too easily turn into a regional conflagration, or – and this is the alternative for which we must strive – finally listening to the voice of the international community and changing course.In all this, you should remember that lasting peace will only be achieved if the process of de-escalation gets under way now. That is our message, and that is the clear message of the entire international community, which it has expressed with a unanimity that, unfortunately, can rarely be achieved with regard to other conflicts.Thank you.;N
DK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia, Azerbaijan agree to avoid targeting civilian populations amid peace talks;"Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to not deliberately target civilian populations amid fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh at peace talks in Geneva on Friday.The two sides will also exchange a list of prisoners of war and bodies of those killed in the battlefield within a week, the co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group said in a statement published on the OSCE website.""The parties will hand over to the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) the list of prisoners of war currently in custody to ensure access and possible exchange,"" the statement read.Yerevan and Baku will also submit questions and comments regarding possible ceasefire mechanisms in writing, in accordance with the joint statement that was adopted in Moscow on October 10.The co-chairs — Igor Popov of the Russian federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the United States — engaged in separate and joint talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ceyhun Bayramov.""The sides engaged in an open and substantive exchange of views aimed at clarifying their negotiating positions on core elements if a comprehensive solution in accordance with item 3 of the October 10 joint statement,"" the Co-Chairs said, adding that they will continue working with the two parties ""intensively"" to find a peaceful settlement of the conflict.The mediation talks are the latest attempt to put an end to the longstanding conflict over the territory that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is ruled by ethnic Armenians since a war there ended in 1994.The latest outburst in the conflict began in September and has since left hundreds of people dead on both sides.Three ceasefires have failed to stop what is being called the worst fighting in the South Caucasus for more than 25 years.The most recent ceasefire was brokered last week by US Secretary of States Mike Pompeo in Washington.Friday saw sporadic fighting in the region as Azerbaijan's defence ministry said military positions and settlements in the Aghdere, Khojavend and Gubadli areas had come under attack while the Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh defence ministry said it had foiled Azeri offensives and that shelling of civilian areas of towns in the enclave had resumed.It also said it had captured a Syrian fighter.";E
DK;Nagorno-Karabakh reports civilian casualties amid shelling;"At least three civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh's largest city were killed during overnight shelling by Azeri forces as Baku pushed its offensive to gain control over separatist territory for a sixth week.Local authorities said a woman and her two grandchildren died in the same house in the regional capital, Stepanakert, after rockets and artillery shells hit residential areas.The strategic city of Shushi, 15 kilometers (9 miles) to the south of Stepanakert and the enclave's second-largest city was also attacked overnight. Several houses were on fire, the territory's Emergency and Rescue Service reported.""The Azerbaijani-Turkish forces opened intense gunfire at the town of Shushi and the city of Stepanakert during the entire night,"" Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported.Independent observers said fighting appeared to be moving deeper into the mountainous enclave.Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry has denied the reports of targeting civilian areas, calling the allegations ""misinformation."" Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of targeting the city of Terter and nearby villages in Azerbaijan.Tensions escalateAt least 1,000 people have died in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians backed by Armenia since a war ended there in 1994. The latest outbreak of conflict began on September 27.According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,177 of their troops and 50 civilians have been killed. Baku has reported at least 92 civilian deaths and more than 400 wounded.Russian President Vladimir Putin said on October 22 that the actual death toll was nearing 5,000.According to the UN children's agency UNICEF, over 130,000 residents have been displaced since fighting escalated.The conflict, which also threatens the security of Azeri oil and gas pipelines, has continued despite two Russia-brokered cease-fires and a US-negotiated truce failing instantly after it took effect.A week ago, France, Russia and the United States called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to make a mutual agreement not to target residential areas, but the accord failed within hours.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh for the conflict to end.";E
DK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan announces capture of major city;"Azerbaijan has seized control of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the country's president on Sunday, after six weeks of fighting with Armenia.Armenian officials denied Shushi had been captured, however, insisting fighting is still ongoing over the strategically key city in the region.In a televised address to the nation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said troops had taken control and that: ""Shusha is ours. Karabakh is ours,'' using the Azerbaijani version of the city's name.""(This day) will become a great day in the history of Azerbaijan,"" Aliyev said.Armenia: The fight is not overIn the aftermath of Aliyev's comments, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian took to Facebook and said that ""fighting in Shushi is continuing. Wait and believe in our troops.""Shushi is of significance because it lies about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the region's capital — Stepanakert — and is situated along the main road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.The landlocked disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces since 1994.The latest outbreak of conflict, which has left at least 1,000 dead, began on September 27.Turkish relationsAzerbaijan's chief ally Turkey welcomed the development. ""The joy of our Azerbaijani brothers who liberated their occupied cities and Karabakh step by step is also our joy,'' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a rally in the northwestern city of Kocaeli.Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar also met Aliyev in Baku on Sunday, according to Ankara's Defense Ministry.Meanwhile, locals in Baku took to the streets to celebrate the capture of Shushi, waving flags and chanting slogans, while drivers sounded their car horns.";E
DK;Russia to 'assist' Armenia if conflict with Azerbaijan spreads beyond Nagorno-Karabakh;"Russia would be prepared to render ""all necessary assistance"" to treaty partner Armenia if the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict expanded to Armenian territory, Russia's Foreign Ministry declared Saturday.Overnight, Armenia and Azerbaijan had again accused each other of shelling residential areas of the separatist Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh — internationally recognized as lying within Azerbaijan.That followed a fourth cease-fire bid, negotiated Friday in Geneva via the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).At those six-hour talks, involving both countries' foreign ministers, the countries pledged not to target civilians and to provide lists of soldiers detained for potential exchanges.Armenia requests assistanceEarly on Saturday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had formally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for ""urgent consultations"" on security assistance, reiterating that Turkey was backing Azerbaijan.Russia and Armenia have a 1997 mutual assistance treaty, with Russia maintaining a base in Armenia's second-largest city of Gyumri.Shelling asserted by both sidesNagorno-Karabakh authorities said Saturday shelling had struck the central market in Stepanakert, the enclave's largest city. Armenia's Defense Ministry said several civilians had been wounded in Shushi in the enclave's south.Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied both accusations and said Azeri regions of Terter, Aghdam and Aghjabedi had come under artillery fire.The monthlong conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has officially claimed more than 1,200 lives but the actual death toll on all sides is thought to be substantially higher.";E
DK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan, Armenia accuse each other of breaking cease-fire;"The Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry on Monday accused Armenia of a ""gross violation"" of a US-brokered cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh , shortly after it went into effect. Baku said Armenian forces had shelled villages in the Terter and Lachin regions. Armenia's defense ministry called the claim ""misinformation,"" saying instead Azerbaijan had ""grossly violated"" the cease-fire when it launched an artillery attack on various combat positions on the front line.Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan insisted on Facebook that his country ""continues to strictly adhere to the cease-fire regime,"" while an aide to Azerbaijani President Haikmet Hajiyev said in a statement that ""the Azerbaijani side is exercising restraint.""DW received confirmation that fighting had broken out again, but according to correspondent Aaron Tilton in the Armenian capital Yerevan, it was ""not clear which side was responsible for the salvos.""Short-lived truceThe ""humanitarian"" cease-fire was announced by the United States following talks with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington on Sunday and took effect at 8 a.m. local time (0400 UTC).The deal followed nearly a month of fresh conflict in the region, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians. Two previous temporary truces, brokered by Russia, have failed to hold.Russia, the US and France are leaders of the so-called Minsk Group, which has been working to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict since the 1990s.The warring parties agreed to abide by the terms of the cease-fire agreed in Moscow on October 10, which were reaffirmed in the statement issued from Paris on October 17, a joint statement said.The State Department said over the weekend that the Minsk co-chairs and foreign ministers had ""agreed to meet again in Geneva on October 29"" to seek ""all steps necessary to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.""Month of violenceFighting over the region has surged to its worst level since a war from 1991-1994 that killed some 30,000 people.More than 1,000 people have reportedly been killed in the latest violence — mostly Armenian separatists — but the true death toll is believed to be much higher. Azerbaijan said 65 of its civilians had been killed but has not released any figures on its military casualties. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said close to 5,000 people had been killed.Armenians consider the mountainous enclave to be part of their historic homeland while Azeris consider it illegally occupied land that should be returned to their control.";N
EE;Toomas Alatalu: Karabakh - a lost game and a quick end;"Delegations led by Russian Defense Minister Shoig and Foreign Minister Lavrov visited Armenia and Azerbaijan on 21 November. While the armistice of 9 November promised to create a land corridor between Azerbaijan and the breakaway region of Nakhichevan, the arrival of the head of the Russian Railways also promises to restore rail traffic between all the countries there. In Armenia, Russian prime ministers met with both President Sarkisyan and Prime Minister Pašinjan. What is important is the latter: ""Russia will support you in stabilizing the situation in Armenia and resolving the problems in Nagorno-Karabakh."" Putin's agreement to the involvement of Turkish troops in the Russian-Turkish monitoring center, which President Aliyev had already demonstrated by pre-broadcasting a telephone call (where Aliyev spoke and Putin was silent!), Was confirmed by Lavrov only at the end of the trip.During the war, Putin reaffirmed Russia's commitment to Armenia's security, stating that it did not extend to Nagorno-Karabakh, which did not belong to it. He also preferred to reiterate the principles of the OSCE Minsk Group (established in 1992 to deal with Nagorno-Karabakh). However, the President of Azerbaijan, Aliyev, only acknowledged the incompetence of the Minsk Group and referred to the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly ""On the liberation of the occupied territory of Azerbaijan"". At the same time, most governments remembered the international law they formulated only when the war ended and it was necessary to justify their inaction.";E
EE;Nagorno-Karabakh - not a conflict between Christians and Muslims, but a little bit nonetheless;In practice, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be described as a religious war because it does not meet the basic criteria.For example, it would be expected that one of the parties would justify or attempt to justify its actions through religion. Secondly, in this case, the main feature of the conflict should be the fight for religious identity, in this case, however, the territory and ethno-politics are central. However, the conflict has had religious aspects throughout history.For example, the genocide in Armenia during the First World War can be viewed through the prism of religion. Although this may not have been one of the main reasons, it is difficult to overlook the fact that Christian Armenia was a lonely island on the Islamic eastern border of the Ottoman state. Given that the Armenian authorities call the current events the end of the Armenian genocide, history is a significant nuance to be relied on.The direct links between religion and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh became apparent in 1988, when both Vazgen I, the leader of the Armenian Church, and Allahshukur Pashazadeh, who held the title of Sheikh ul-Islam (Grand Mufti of the Caucasus) in Azerbaijan, took to the streets to support their people.At the same time, there was no desire to play too much of a role in the conflict at the time, and two religious leaders later met to confirm their distancing from the war. Neither side encouraged direct use of violence and hoped to avoid large-scale bloodshed.;N
EE;The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is claiming more and more victims;"The AFP correspondent heard an air disturbance and a series of explosions in Stephanakert, which suffered severe damage, despite the recent ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan.Some time later, however, an Armenian rocket attack destroyed several houses in Ganja, Azerbaijan 's second largest city, killing 12 people and injuring at least 40, according to the state prosecutor' s office.According to the prosecutor's office, 20 houses were affected, five were completely destroyed.AFP journalists in Ganja saw houses turned into rubble and people fleeing in tears, some of them in gowns and pajamas.Dozens of rescuers in red helmets tried to dig their way through the rubble to the survivors with their bare hands.The rockets hit the city early Saturday morning, while most residents were still asleep.Last weekend, a missile hit another residential area in Ganja, killing ten civilians.Another rocket hit Ganja on Saturday, but it crashed into the city's industrial area.Around the same time, the city of Mingecevir was attacked, but its missile was shot down by Azerbaijani air defense. The city is protected by an anti-missile system because it houses a strategically important dam.Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a ceasefire last Saturday after 11 hours of talks in Moscow, but since then the parties have incessantly accused each other of violating the agreement.Karabakh ombudsman Artak Beglarjan accused Twitter of continuing to attack civilian infrastructure in Azerbaijan and empty calls for peace by the international community.Earlier yesterday, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev had announced the ""liberation"" of several villages.According to Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Defense, Azerbaijan has launched a large-scale offensive and heavy fighting has been going on all day.Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan, escaped control of Baku during the 1990s war, which killed about 30,000 people.The fighting that broke out on September 27 is the worst since the 1990s war.";A
EE;Armenians set fire to their homes in areas handed over to the Azeris;"The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have begun to set fire to their homes in the territories under Azerbaijan under a peace agreement.This also applies to an ethnic Armenian village, Kalbajar, which comes under Azerbaijani control on Sunday. Angry and frightened villagers, about 600 people, have set fire to their homes over the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Kalbajari, an Armenian-speaking village of Karvachari, is legally part of Azerbaijan but has been under ethnic Armenian control since 1994, when the war over Nagorno-Karabakh ended. At the end of the war, Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories remained under Armenian control.Although Muslim Azeris and Christian Armenians have historically lived together in these regions, a peace deal that has stopped the armed conflict is likely to only partially reduce inter-communal tensions, the Associated Press wrote.""Finally, we blow it up or set it on fire to leave nothing to the Muslims,"" ​​said one of the villagers.He packed everything that could be transported away from home. It is not yet known where the family will go.On Saturday, cars and trucks leaving Karabakh for Armenia caused a kilometer-long traffic jam.During the war that ended in 1994, hundreds of thousands of Azeris had to leave their homes. It is not clear when some civilians could resettle Karvachar.Azeris arriving in the areas must build up burnt and empty buildings. Agdam, which will come under Azerbaijani control next week, was at times a city of 40,000 inhabitants, but has now been essentially abandoned.";E
ES;Nagorno Karabakh, the endless conflict;Although some are Christians and others Muslims, Armenians and Azeris had reasonably lived in peace, as good neighbors, in the ethnic hodgepodge of the South Caucasus, at least until the last stages of the Soviet Union. In the heat of the greater freedom that perestroika brought, the Armenians started a protest movement to demand the annexation of the mountainous province of Nagorno Karabakh, integrated in the Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan but with an Armenian majority, to the neighboring Republic of Armenia.Protests against the Karabakh separatist movement spread in Azerbaijan, encouraged by a new batch of nationalist politicians, and in 1988 led to a brutal pogrom against the Armenian minority in Sumgayit, Azerbaijan. House by house, the Azeri nationalists forcibly removed the Armenians and killed them. The survivors fled Azerbaijan, and the same way, in reverse, did the Azeris who for centuries lived in Armenia.Shortly after the armed conflict broke out. It was a cruel and little-told war in which he killed himself viciously: they began fighting with tractors and hunting shotguns to end - once the USSR completely collapsed - by welcoming mercenaries of all stripes and fighting with the weapons left by the Red Army . The Armenian militiamen of the Karabakh, with the help of the Republic of Armenia, cleared the Karabakh and the surrounding provinces of Azerbaijanis, resulting in Azerbaijan losing about 15% of its territory. About 30,000 people died and more than a million became refugees.In 1994 a precarious ceasefire was signed and there have been successive rounds of negotiations to try to resolve the conflict. All have ended in resounding failures. Skirmishes are constant and have caused more than 3,000 deaths since the truceNagorno Karabakh has proclaimed itself an independent republic and functions as such - Mkhitaryan, like many Armenians, has donated funds for its economic survival - but no other country in the world recognizes it as a state, not even Armenia, which is the one that pays for its existence and grants passports to its population. On the two highways that link both territories, only a small border post, where many times they do not even require showing the passport, is the only sign that the country is changing.;E
ES;Clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan fuel fears of an escalation in the conflict over the Upper Karabakh enclave;"The escalation in hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan has caused at least 16 deaths since Sunday. The fighting on the border between the two countries, faced since the collapse of the USSR by the mountainous enclave of Upper Karabakh, is the most serious since 2016. Yerevan and Baku accuse each other of invading their territories and initiating attacks. On Tuesday night, hundreds of people protested in the streets of the Azerbaijani capital for a mobilization against Armenia. Meanwhile, Turkey, united by close ties to Baku, called Yerevan ""reckless"" and assured that its actions had been ""deliberate."" Moscow, an ally of Armenia, where it has a military base, has called for containment.Despite the ceasefire agreed in 1994, the area around Upper Karabakh and the border between the two countries has seen repeated and deadly fighting in recent years. And although the escalation stopped last night, the situation fuels fears that the conflict, latent since the signing of the truce, will reactivate and involve Moscow and Ankara. The mountainous enclave of Upper Karabakh or Nagorno Karabakh, controlled by Armenia on Azerbaijani soil, is the scene of one of the territorial conflicts that remained after the collapse of the Soviet Union.The clashes with heavy artillery have killed a civilian and 11 Azerbaijani military personnel since Sunday, including two high-ranking officers, according to Baku. Armenia, after two days without speaking of casualties, reported yesterday the death of four soldiers. There are several wounded on both sides. The incidents were located this time on the volatile border between the two countries, between the Azerbaijani cities of Tovuz and Gazakh and the Armenian area of ​​Tavush, some 280 kilometers north of Nagorno Karabakh.Azerbaijan's defense minister has accused Armenia of violating the ceasefire and trying to seize Azerbaijani territory. Meanwhile, the Armenian Defense Ministry assures that Azerbaijani drones launched an attack against the city of Berd, targeting civilian infrastructure. One of the drones was shot down, according to Yerevan, who accuses Azerbaijani forces of placing artillery and using civilians as shields in the Tavush area: also of launching cyberattacks on the websites of the Armenian Government.Azerbaijani President Iljam Aliev said the incidents are ""another provocation by Armenia"" and promised to protect his territory. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accused the neighboring country of provoking the clashes and warned that Baku would be ""responsible for the unpredictable consequences of regional destabilization.""Last night, for the first time since Sunday, there were no major escalations, but hundreds of people demonstrated in Baku. There, waving Azerbaijani flags they chanted slogans such as ""Karabakh is ours, and will remain ours"" or ""Supreme Commander, give us arms!"" The police evicted this morning a group of protesters who broke into the Azerbaijani Parliament at dawn to demand military action against Yerevan.During the time of the USSR, Upper Karabakh was an autonomous province of Azerbaijan, inhabited by a majority of Armenians. In 1988, the Armenians in the province passed a resolution calling for joining Armenia. A conflict then broke out, causing some 25,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands displaced. In 1994, Armenian forces seized control of the enclave and other territories that it claims as a “security strip”. It is considered an independent region and is linked to Armenia by a corridor. Azerbaijan believes that the solution to the conflict involves the return of the territories and claims that various resolutions of the UN Security Council support it. In 1994, Baku and Yerevan reached a ceasefire and led a resolution to the conflict within the framework of dialogue of the so-called Minsk group (co-led by Russia, the US and France and under the auspices of the OSCE), but since then they have been incidents occurred. The most serious four years ago, which also coincided with the deterioration of relations between Moscow and Ankara.Azerbaijan, an oil power whose military spending exceeds the entire budget of Armenia, has recently increased its armed forces and threatened to act to regain control of Upper Karabakh. But they are measured actions, says the analyst specializing in the post-Soviet space Alexander Sytin, Armenia belongs to the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a political-military alliance led by Moscow, in addition to hosting a Russian base on its territory.Turkey has expressed its support for the Government of Iljam Aliyev. ""The incident is not a violation or border conflict, but a deliberate attack directly against Azerbaijan,"" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. ""Armenia will fall into the hole it is digging for others, ”he added during a meeting of his cabinet, as quoted by the daily Hürriyet.Russia is trying to activate the diplomatic channel so that the escalation does not go further. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts to call for an immediate ceasefire. Moscow, says the Kremlin, is ""deeply concerned"" by the clashes and has called ""for moderation"" to both countries.The conflict worries the international community not only because of instability in the southern Caucasus, a region that serves as a corridor for gas and oil pipelines that transport gas to various markets. Also from the point of view of the action of regional powers with influence in the area. Moscow and Ankara have good relations now, but they also maintain an uneasy alliance because of their support for warring parties in Syria, and now Libya as well.";N
FR;Nagorno-Karabakh – Statement by Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (10 Nov.2020);Announcements were made last night by Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Russian authorities regarding the implementation of a ceasefire agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh. We have taken note of the agreement and are examining its terms and implications. Clarifications are expected in order to assess their impact.The cessation of fighting is crucial. The parties had made this commitment several times over the last few weeks and we have been, and remain, strongly committed to this priority within the framework of the co-chairmanship of the Minsk Group. We therefore expect Azerbaijan to strictly uphold the commitments that it has made and to put an immediate end to its offensive. In this context, we call on Turkey not to do anything that goes against this key priority.At this difficult time, France reaffirms its wholehearted friendship with the Armenian people in light of our close human, cultural and historic ties with Armenia. In these tragic circumstances, we stand alongside it. In particular, we will work to lend it all the humanitarian support it needs. Indeed, the situation on the ground, with displaced populations and fighting in urban centers, has resulted in serious humanitarian consequences.France has mobilized its efforts in recent weeks through a very large number of civil society initiatives. The French authorities are contributing to these initiatives, providing medical assistance, which arrived late last week in Yerevan and included teams of surgeons specialized in treating conflict victims. Other initiatives will be taken in the coming days to provide Armenia with the help it will need.Finally, the resumption of negotiations between the parties on a lasting settlement of the conflict remains necessary, beyond the ceasefire announced yesterday. As co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, France will be an active participant in this effort. Discussions between the two parties must resume without delay. They must allow for the return of people displaced by the conflict in recent weeks, and for the definition of the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh.;E
FR;Lives saved, territory lost: Armenians protest Nagorno-Karabakh deal;"Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a deal with Russia to end weeks of fierce clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, after a string of Azerbaijani victories in its fight to retake the disputed region.The announcement of a full ceasefire sparked outrage in Armenia, with angry protesters storming the government headquarters in Yerevan where they ransacked offices and broke windows.Crowds also seized control of parliament, calling from inside the chamber for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan after he announced the “painful” deal to the end the fighting.“I have signed a statement with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on the termination of the Karabakh war,” Pashinyan said, calling the move “unspeakably painful for me personally and for our people”.“I have taken this decision as a result of an in-depth analysis of the military situation,” he added.Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Pashinyan had been left with no choice but to sign the “historic agreement”.Armenians see Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal as 'complete capitulation'‘A capitulation’“An iron hand forced him to sign this document,” Aliyev said in televised remarks. “This is essentially a capitulation.”Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that both Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed to “a total ceasefire” that would create the conditions for a long-term settlement of the conflict.He said the two sides would hold on to areas under their control and that Russian peacekeepers would be deployed along frontlines and to secure a corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenian territory.Russian news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying 1,960 peacekeepers would be deployed with 90 armoured vehicles.Putin announces deployment of Russian peacekeeping troops to Nagorno-KarabakhAliyev said Armenia had agreed to a timetable to withdraw its forces from large parts of the region and that Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey would be involved in implementing the ceasefire.The deal would end six weeks of fierce clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan that broke away from Baku’s control during a bitter war in the 1990s.The conflict—which has simmered for decades despite international efforts to reach a peace deal—erupted into fresh fighting in late September.More than 1,300 people have been confirmed killed, including dozens of civilians, but the actual death toll is believed to be significantly higher.With Russian peacekeepers deployed, Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire is ‘likely to stick’Strategic town seizedAzerbaijani forces made steady gains over the weeks of fighting, sweeping across the southern flank of Nagorno-Karabakh and eventually into the region’s heartland.A turning point came on Sunday when Aliyev announced that his forces had captured Shusha, the region’s strategically vital second-largest town.Shusha sits on cliffs overlooking Nagorno-Karabakh’s main city Stepanakert and on the main road to Armenia, which backs the separatists.Armenia insisted earlier on Monday that fighting for the town was continuing but a local separatist official admitted that Shusha was “completely out of our control”.The ceasefire deal came just hours after Azerbaijan admitted to accidentally shooting down a Russian military helicopter flying in Armenia.Moscow’s defence ministry said two crew members were killed when the Mi-24 helicopter was hit close to the border with Azerbaijan. A third crew member was injured and evacuated.Azerbaijan quickly apologised and blamed the incident on the “tense situation in the region and increased combat readiness” of its forces.The helicopter was shot down near the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan between Armenia and Turkey, far from Nagorno-Karabakh.Mounting anger in ArmeniaRussia has a military pact with Armenia and a base in the country, but had insisted it would not get involved in the conflict with Azerbaijan unless Armenian territory itself came under threat.Karabakh declared independence nearly 30 years ago but the declaration has not been recognised internationally, even by Armenia, and it remains a part of Azerbaijan under international law.Repeated attempts at ceasefires brokered by France, Russia and the United States—who together lead the “Minsk Group” that has sought for years to end the conflict—repeatedly failed over the last few weeks.Azerbaijan has been pushing for Turkey’s involvement in a settlement and the new deal came after Putin spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday.Anger had already been mounting in Armenia ahead of the agreement, with 17 opposition parties on Monday calling on Pashinyan and the rest of his government to immediately resign.The parties said in a statement that Armenia’s leaders bore “the entire responsibility for the situation” in Karabakh.“The authorities have lost their moral and political basis to represent the people,” they said.France says deal must 'preserve Armenia's interests'On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a ""lasting political solution"" to the conflict and urged Turkey to ""end its provocations"". France, home to a large Armenian population, has crossed swords repeatedly with Turkey on a range of issues, including Nagorno-Karabakh.Macron's office said it was studying the parameters of the Russian-brokered ceasefire, adding that a long-term deal should also ""preserve Armenia's interests"".Macron's office quoted him as saying that efforts should be made ""without delay"" to try to come up with a ""lasting political solution to the conflict that allows for the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to remain in good conditions and the return of tens of thousands of people who have fled their homes.""Earlier in the day, Putin said displaced people would be able to return to Nagorno-Karabakh and prisoners of war would be exchanged.A spokesman for the Kremlin said there had been no agreement on deploying Turkish peacekeepers in the disputed region, but that the Turkish military would help staff a joint monitoring centre with Russian forces.";E
FR;Thousands of Armenian civilians flee their homes in wake of Nagorno-Karabakh truce;"Around 100,000 Armenian civilians have fled their villages, homes and even their loved ones in the wake of a Moscow-backed truce that called for Armenia to hand over control of some areas it holds around the Nagorno-Karabakh region.Some refugees have found their way to makeshift centres where volunteers and aid workers offer support.“They had to leave everything behind in the disaster,” said one woman who offered assistance. “They need everything – food, hygiene kits, even clothes – because winter’s on the way.”Many are still searching for missing family and fear the worst.One woman, Alla, told FRANCE 24 she had four children at the frontline. The most important thing, she said, was to find them.“After that, we’ll see what life has in store and how we’ll continue to live.”She fled with her daughter while she could, but her husband and their other children remained in Nagorno-Karabakh. Like many others she found Armenians waiting across the border with open arms.Among them a woman who has opened up her home to the refugees: “They’ve been with us since October 3. It’s not very comfortable for sleeping, it’s no five-star hotel, but they want for nothing.”“We all live together. If we were in their position, they’d do the same for us,” she said.The fate of Alla’s sons is ever in mind as is that of their hometown Shushi, which is now under Azerbaijani control.“We’ll hope we can go back to Stepanakert, maybe,"" she said.";E
FR;Azerbaijan says key Karabakh town captured, Armenia says it didn't happen;"Azerbaijan said Sunday its forces had captured the key town of Shusha from Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh, but Armenia insisted that fighting for the strategically vital area was ongoing.The capture of Shusha would be a major victory for Azerbaijan six weeks after new fighting erupted over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that broke away from Azerbaijan's control in the 1990s.The fortress town sits on cliffs around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Nagorno-Karabakh's largest city Stepanakert and on the main road through the region to the territory of Armenia, which backs the separatists.Both sides have reported fierce clashes around the town in recent days, after Azerbaijani forces swept across the southern flank of Nagorno-Karabakh and pushed through its mountain passes.In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced that the town had been captured.""With great pride and joy, I inform you that the town of Shusha has been liberated,"" said Aliyev, dressed in military fatigues and standing in front of an Azerbaijani flag.""Our liberation march continues. We will go to the end, until the complete liberation of the occupied territories,"" Aliyev said.Celebrations in BakuFlag-waving Azerbaijanis celebrated in the capital Baku after Aliyev's announcement, with cars honking their horns as residents crowded along city streets despite coronavirus restrictions.""I did not leave the house for a week, but today I came out to say that Shusha has been liberated. We are happy, congratulations to all my people,"" 32-year-old Baku resident Shargiya Dadashova said.Armenian officials said the battle was far from over.""The fighting continues in Shushi, wait and believe in our army,"" Armenian defence ministry official Artsrun Hovhannisyan said, using the Armenian name for the town.Armenian defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said there was ""the most ferocious combat"" for the town, while the Armenian government said taking Shusha was an ""unattainable pipe dream for Azerbaijan"".""Despite heavy destruction, the fortress city withstands the blows of the adversary,"" it said.In the streets of the Armenian capital Yerevan, residents said they did not believe the town had been taken.""To know who controls Shushi we will listen to the commanders of our army, not Aliyev,"" 50-year-old Arman said on the city's central Abovyan Street. ""In any case I can assure you that the war will not be finished if the Azerbaijanis take Shushi.""Shusha had been a majority Azerbaijani city before the 1990s conflict and has been a rallying cry for authorities in Baku promising to retake Nagorno-Karabakh.New clashes broke out in late September between Azerbaijan and the Armenia-backed separatists over control of Karabakh, which declared its independence nearly 30 years ago.That declaration has not been recognised internationally, even by Armenia, and it remains a part of Azerbaijan under international law.The recent flare-up has been the worst in decades, with more than 1,000 people confirmed dead including dozens of civilians, although the death toll is believed to be much higher. Diplomatic effortsFighting has continued despite several attempts by Russia, France and the United States to help reach a ceasefire. The three countries make up the ""Minsk Group"" of mediators that helped broker a truce between the ex-Soviet rivals in 1994 but have failed to find a lasting solution to the long-simmering conflict.Diplomatic efforts appeared to intensify as the fighting raged around Shusha, with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday speaking by phone to Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron.Turkey is a key ally of Azerbaijan and on Sunday Erdogan congratulated Baku after its claim of retaking Shusha, saying it was ""a sign that the liberation of the rest of the occupied territories is near"".Turkish involvement would be key in any agreement to halt the fighting and there were reports Sunday of a plan to agree a ceasefire and deploy Russian and Turkish peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh.Ankara has been a fierce supporter of Azerbaijan, a fellow Muslim and Turkic country, while Moscow has a defence pact with Armenia and a military base on its territory.Aliyev met Sunday with the Turkish foreign and defence ministers in Baku.Dmitry Trenin, a political analyst and head of the Moscow Carnegie Center, said the conflict had reached a ""decisive point"".""Russia and Turkey are finalising the modalities of (a) ceasefire, Armenian withdrawal, corridors and peacekeepers,"" he wrote on Twitter. ""New regional order is being sealed.""";E
FR;Nagorno-Karabakh: Humanitarian ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan - Declaration by the spokesperson (10 October 2020);France commends the announcement of a humanitarian ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It must now be implemented and strictly respected in order to create the conditions to bring a permanent end to hostilities between the two countries.Substantive talks, to which the parties have committed under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group, must resume without preconditions. France remains fully committed to contributing to these talks.;N
FR;Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh – Statement by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson;France is deeply concerned about the large-scale clashes which have broken out in Nagorno-Karabakh and reports of civilian casualties in particular. It calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities and the resumption of dialogue.In its capacity as Co-Chair of the Minsk Group, France, with its Russian and American partners, reiterates its commitment to reaching a negotiated, lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with due regard for international law.;N
FR;Nagorno-Karabakh - Communiqué issued by Jean-Yves Le Drian;I spoke in turn to the Armenian Foreign Minister, Mr Mnatsakanyan, and the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, Mr Bayramov, to discuss the major crisis under way in Nagorno-Karabakh since 27 September. The conversations built on many discussions held between France and those two countries since Sunday, at every level, particularly between the French President, Prime Minister Pachinyan and President Aliyev.During the discussions, I once again expressed the urgent need to secure an end to hostilities, immediately and without preconditions. Their continuation would only increase the number of casualties – particularly civilian ones –, the material and human costs endured by both sides, and the threat of an uncontrolled escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I warned my interlocutors about the threat of the conflict being internationalized.In the spirit of the American, French and Russian Presidents’ statement on 1 October, I emphasized France’s determination, as Co-Chair of the Minsk Group, to play its full role, impartially, in securing an end to hostilities and the immediate resumption of substantial negotiations without preconditions, under the aegis of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE’s Minsk Group.Finally, I thanked my interlocutors for their respective contributions to the medical evacuation under way of the two Le Monde journalists injured in Nagorno-Karabakh yesterday.;N
FR;Nagorno-Karabakh - Q&A from the press briefing (10 November 2020);Q : What is your view concerning the fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia have signed an agreement brokered by Russia to end hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?Q : The agreement signed on Nagorno-Karabakh was reached without the involvement of the Minsk Group. How is it still influential and relevant? Thank you.R : Please refer to the statement made today by Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.;N
FR;Nagorno-Karabakh – Q&A from the press briefing (4 December 2020);Q: A question on Nagorno-Karabakh: will France recognize the territories annexed by Azerbaijan as being legitimately Azerbaijani?A: I refer you to the Minister’s speech yesterday before the National Assembly, especially with regard to questions on Nagorno-Karabakh, its administrative demarcation and its mode of governance, which must result from the negotiations we want to conduct with the parties in our capacity as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.;E
FR;Nagorno-Karabakh: 'Everyone benefits from Russia-brokered ceasefire deal except Armenia';"Russia brokered a ceasefire deal on Monday that secured territorial advances for Azerbaijan in the ethnic Armenian breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. But some analysts say that Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia all benefit from the agreement while protests have sprung up in Armenia accusing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of betraying the national interest.The Russian-brokered ceasefire deal on November 9 ended six weeks of conflict between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces – and envisages the use of Russian troops as peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.The agreement, which entails Armenia accepting Azerbaijani gains in the region, has prompted demonstrations in Armenia calling for Prime Minister Pashinyan’s resignation and accusing him of “betrayal”. Russia is a longstanding Armenian ally, leading many Armenians to see the ceasefire deal Moscow arranged as another betrayal.Russian President Vladimir Putin made the announcement himself at midnight from Monday to Tuesday, emphasising that the deal enshrines “a total ceasefire” and “cessation of military hostilities” in Nagorno-Karabakh.Russia deployed some 2,000 troops as soon as the ceasefire came into effect. According to the treaty signed by Yerevan, Baku and Moscow, they will be deployed as Armenian forces leave areas under Azerbaijan’s control – that is to say, seven districts around Nagorno-Karabakh and a small part of the region itself. The now diminished self-proclaimed republic will remain under the protection of Russian soldiers. These troops will play a notable role in protecting the Lachin corridor, the only supply route connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.A win for Azerbaijan – with Putin’s blessing?Azerbaijan looks like the big winner in this conflict with its neighbour and bitter rival. Significantly, the territories it has gained include the historic and strategic city of Shushi, which is located on the road linking Armenia to the separatist capital Stepanakert. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev was certainly keen to present this as a triumph for his country – hailing Armenia’s “surrender” and calling Pashinyan a “coward” for not signing the deal in front of the cameras, adding that he said “we would chase them off our land like dogs, and we did”.Galia Ackerman, a Paris-based historian specialising in Eastern Europe and author of Régiment Immortel: La Guerre sacrée de Poutine (“Immortal Regiment: Putin’s Sacred War”), argued that Azerbaijan has enjoyed Putin’s “tacit” backing: “Regardless of whether it’s under Armenian or Azerbaijani control, Nagorno-Karabakh is not a priority for Putin,” she told FRANCE 24. “The way he sees it, letting the war take its course was a means of trying to get rid of Pashinyan and change the political situation in Armenia.”“Pashinyan was elected after a popular uprising in 2018 and was starting to look a bit too independent, as far as Moscow was concerned,” Ackerman added. “Notably, he got rid of a few people from his pro-Russian security services.""For his part, Pashinyan acknowledged that the ceasefire terms are a blow to Armenian national pride, describing the deal on his Facebook page as “incredibly painful for me and my people”.‘Everyone benefits except Armenia’Despite the arrival of French and American diplomats in Moscow on November 12, Paris and Washington did not play a role in the ceasefire accord. France and the US, along with Russia, co-chair the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which is tasked with ensuring peace in Nagorno-Karabakh.“What is very important for the Kremlin is the diminished role of the West, which was mainly self-inflicted by the lack of focus” under US President Donald Trump, Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, told AFP.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is another big winner of this resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis. A close ally of Azerbaijan, Ankara will monitor the implementation of the ceasefire using a joint observation centre.“There is a new regional order in the making, with Russia still indispensable, growth of Turkish role, and diminishing relevance of the West,” Gabuev wrote on Twitter.“Russia was very struck by Turkey’s involvement in Caucasian geopolitics,” Gaidz Minassian, an Armenia specialist at Sciences-Po University in Paris, told FRANCE 24.“Ankara got involved at all levels – especially on a military level – and now we can see how much more importance Azerbaijan places on ties with Turkey compared to those with Russia.”In fact, all parties involved came out ahead – expect for one. “Turkey emerges particularly strengthened from this, but of all the players involved in this conflict, everyone benefits except Armenia,” Ackerman concluded.“Russia regains its grip on Armenia and gets boots on the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkey strengthens its links with Azerbaijan: and Azerbaijan is delighted because they have recovered territory that separatists had occupied for more than a quarter of a century.”";E
GE;Hans Gutbrod on Karabakh: Peace Perspectives & the Impact on Georgia;As the rest of the expert and opinion making world is busy trying to determine who the winners are and what the next clever scheme of Putin’s might be, Ilia State University's Professor Hans Gutbrod discusses peace perspectives after the Karabakh truce.“For now, this is a ceasefire: we will still need to see how actual peace arrangements develop, and everything will hinge on this,” he says. “The question of Karabakh had been hanging over the Caucasus like a Sword of Damocles. Now that sword is down, with painful losses, and for the time being, it is still a moment of grief.“But beyond that grief, if we manage not to put another Sword of Damocles up, that would be an achievement. At least the question of returning hundreds of thousands of displaced Azerbaijanis may be resolved, and this could be a new beginning. If the settlement gives a dignified solution to Armenia, this would greatly help long-term stability.”How does this new deal change the power balance in the region?Perceptive Russian analysts have pointed out that Russian engagement in Syria could be seen as a trial-run for Central Asia: how do you keep stability in a country where the president is the not-particularly-competent son of an authoritarian leader, while keeping Russian military engagement as small as possible? It's not necessarily that the Russians believe these authoritarian leaders are great, but more that they don't see a viable alternative to stability. While people in Georgia know the downsides of Russia, it’s worth remembering that the West hasn't delivered great solutions in these difficult contexts either, not in Syria or Libya, nor in Afghanistan. Russia may soon face this substantial challenge in Central Asia, with multiple transitions, right on their doorstep, and with quite a few ethnic Russians as well.If we follow that interpretation, the Kremlin learned in Syria that they could live, broadly, in sorting these arrangements with Turkey, even if Turkey was on the other side: both sides kept out the West, looked after their own interests, soaked up local constituencies as allies, and kept out the radical Islamists, which are a worry both for Russia and for Turkey. In that way, Russia may have felt that even when they are on the other side, Turkey plays by the same rules of the game, and that they are broadly comfortable with having them in the region, also to keep out China, which will be a concern in Central Asia. Karabakh may just be part of this much broader understanding.Again, this puts it into an incredibly broad sweep, but there may be something to this perspective.On the impact of Russian peacekeepers in particular: how is it going to affect things?Russian peacekeepers are apparently seen as a very big factor for Azerbaijan. In the end, I'm not sure how substantive they will be, as it’s a small contingent. It's more of a tripwire, and a way for Azerbaijan to have a presence that explains, internally, why they don't take over Stepanakert. This certainly was a popular demand, but would have created all sorts of problems, ranging from potential ethnic cleansing, to potentially having an unhappy Armenian minority. Notably, the former US diplomat Matt Bryza, well known in Georgia and now working with oil-connected companies in Azerbaijan, warned that Azerbaijan would have “international pariah status” if it engaged in mass ethnic cleansing.Who are the winners and losers?First, the losers are all the families that have lost a son, a father, a brother or an uncle. This is what war does: it brings irrevocable loss. When speaking about the future, one may want to recall that many families may not even have buried their dead yet. This is a time of grief.Second, it is still a bit unclear who the winners will be. You can win a conflict, but still lose the peace: arguably this is what happened to Armenia, which won in 1994, but didn't manage to turn this into a lasting peace, and we have been living in that warped world of closed borders and armed front lines for almost three decades. I think the challenge now is to find something that will actually open up the region, and to build something that gives us the prospect of leaving all this terrible past behind.The fact that Azerbaijan’s strategic patience and militarization approach actually enabled them to achieve their goals might be seen as a demonstration that it’s the way to go for other countries.Various countries will look at this with great attention, to figure out what the lessons for them are. Practically everywhere, you see discussion on the use of drones. It's an unpleasant subject, but the war was a little bit like cavalry against machine guns. That said, one can expect that militaries will adapt quite quickly, and more developed countries will find this easier.One should be careful not to exaggerate: in this case, Azerbaijan had Israeli weapons, Turkish weapons and officers, outsized wealth compared to Armenia, and Armenia's strategic partner decided not to take an interest. This is a rare alignment, and I'm not sure that, say, Ukraine, can learn much when it comes to its own separatist territories.What does the future hold for Karabakh itself and its status?Again, I think this will become apparent in the upcoming negotiations. If Azerbaijan and Turkey play this well, it’s possible there will be arrangements that Armenians can live with: that give them dignity in the moment of defeat: in which borders open, trade begins, people can (cautiously) cross back and forth. The key is to avoid the mistakes of the past, and to try to push for a solution that the various sides can live with, with dignity.This is a radical thing to say, but I think it might make sense to think about a much more comprehensive settlement of conflicts beyond Karabakh, too, so that societies can focus on making life better for their citizens, and addressing the many pressing challenges.Could it be a lesson for the West on how games are played in this region?The West is very good at a particular kind of politics, at developing institutions, at being respectful to its own citizens, at building social infrastructure, and creating a desirable place to live. The very people that often speak dismissively of the West buy expensive apartments in Chelsea or Manhattan, and send their children to boarding school in Switzerland.At the same time, the West just isn't good at cutting through the proverbial Gordic knot. That's not how Western bureaucracies function.The West will maintain a strong role, but for different kinds of games. These games, if that’s the right term, are actually really important to make lives better for citizens by developing economic institutions, capital markets regional integration, and delivering good education. In that way, I think the West will likely continue to matter in the region.What will the impact be for Tbilisi?Right now, I think it’s just a huge relief that the fighting is coming to an end. To thrive, Georgia needs to live in a peaceful Caucasus.Perhaps this is a moment to recognize both the Azerbaijanis and Armenians in Georgia, as well as the Georgian authorities, for their managing to keep the peace, in what was a terribly difficult time. There were small gestures, such as the Saturday night vigil for peace by Malkhaz Songulashvili, the Metropolitan Bishop, assisted by both Azerbaijani and Armenia religious figures. This was admirable, in such a difficult time. It has been said many times, but I do think that Georgia can be a model for coexistence between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.Does the potential Nakhichevan corridor and border with Turkey threaten Georgia’s transit country status?The potential corridor does reduce Georgia's transit country status, but this may not be a bad thing for the country. As the writer and critic Akaki Bakradze said a long time ago, carrying a freshly cooked chicken past me gives me the smell, but not the food. I'm not convinced that hundreds of trucks crossing Georgia every day leave that much in terms of revenue and development. I think it makes more sense to focus on other areas of development, including high-revenue tourism, export agriculture and manufacturing. These are the fields of real opportunity, and will require much more patient work to turn into a success.;N
GE;Georgia Hopes Nagorno-Karabakh Deal will Contribute to Full-scale Resolution of Conflict;"Georgia expresses hope that ""The ceasefire agreement reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia will contribute to the full-scale resolution of the conflict,"" reads the statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.""Georgia supports the dialogue between both parties. Furthermore, we express the readiness to contribute to the peace process, together with the international community.We believe that the international community’s active efforts and the enforcement of multilateral international mechanisms will have their effect on ensuring long-term peace that will open up new opportunities for the region as a whole,"" the MFA stated.";N
GE;Phone Conversation between Georgian, Armenian PMs;Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a phone conversation yesterday.The parties discussed the situation surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, emphasizing the importance of the comprehensive ceasefire agreement and expressing hope of positive dynamics in the process of its implementation.The Prime Ministers pointed out the significance of peaceful conflict-resolution in the South Caucasus for the stability and development of the region's countries.;N
GR;Azerbaijan recalls its ambassador to Greece for consultations;"Azerbaijan on Thursday recalled its ambassador to Greece for consultations amid conflict with ethnic Armenian forces around Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azeri foreign ministry said.""We brought to the attention of the Greek Foreign Ministry information from open sources about the arrival of Armenian citizens from foreign countries, including from Greece, to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan to participate in military operations,"" the ministry said in a statement.Armenia denied the allegations and Athens had recalled its ambassador to Azerbaijan on Wednesday after what it said were ""unfounded and offensive"" allegations by the Azeri government that Greece tolerated militants on its soil. ";E
GR;Menendez calls for halting arms sales to Turkey, Azerbaijan;Democratic Senator Bob Menendez has submitted two resolutions to Congress, calling for the halt of arms sales to Turkey and Azerbaijan, reports say.“Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against the Armenian people – with Turkey’s full backing – has already exacted a painful toll on civilians in the region and resulted in appalling human rights abuses. The United States cannot continue providing security assistance and arms to Azerbaijan and Turkey as they move the region further and further away from peace,” Menendez said, according to the same reports.“Turkey’s pattern of violence extends beyond the South Caucasus to Syria, Iraq, and Libya, and both President [Ilham] Aliyev and President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan have inflicted appalling abuses on their own people. This resolution pushes back against Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s human rights abuses and paves the way to stop arming two governments that so often use their security forces to harm innocent people,” Menendez was quoted as saying.;E
GR;FM to visit Yerevan on Friday;Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will travel to Armenia on Friday to discuss current developments in Nagorno-Karabakh with his Armenian counterpart, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.Their talks will also focus on bilateral and regional issues, the Eastern Mediterranean, the cooperation between the two countries in the context of the trilateral cooperation mechanisms, and EU-Armenian relations.Dendias will then be received by the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian.While in Yerevan, the minister visit the Armenian Genocide Museum and lay a wreath at the Memorial to the Victims.;E
GR;Greek FM starts Yerevan visit, lays wreath at Armenian Genocide memorial;Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was in Yerevan on Friday and laid a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Memorial before embarking on a series of official meetings.“We will never forget, never again!” Dendias said in a tweet, posting a photograph of the wreath-laying ceremony.Dendias was “warmly welcomed” to Yerevan by his counterpart, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, with the two officials reaffirming “strong ties and excellent relations between the two countries,” the Greek Foreign Ministry tweeted.During talks that followed, Dendias and Mnatsakanyan were expected to discuss recent developments in Nagorno-Karabakh and in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as cooperation between Greece and Armenia within the context of tripartite partnership mechnanisms.Dendias will also be meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, before being received by President Armen Sarkissian.;E
GR;Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement on the transport of humanitarian aid collected by Armenian Organisations in Greece to Armenia;s part of the humanitarian aspect of its mission, the Directorate General of International Development Cooperation Department (YDAS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the request of Armenian Organisations in Greece (Armenian Relief Society, Armenian Blue Cross and Cross of Mercy Macedonia-Thrace), which, in cooperation with the Armenian Embassy in Athens, collected humanitarian aid for those impacted by the recent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.With the invaluable assistance of the Ministry of National Defence, which provided a transport aircraft, this humanitarian aid, consisting of medical supplies and food for those affected and refugees, has been scheduled for transport to Armenia on Saturday, December 12th.The actions in question are being coordinated by the Director General of Hellenic Aid, Mr G. Larissis, who will deliver the aid to representatives of the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations and the branch of the Armenian Relief Society in Armenia, as a gesture of support for and solidarity towards our suffering fellow human beings in the region.;A
HU;Azerbaijani community living in Hungary is worried about the escalation of war between Azerbaijan and Armenia;Azerbaijani-Hungarian Youth Union (AHYU) contacted Daily News Hungary to express the worry of Azerbaijani community living in Hungary about Armenia’s violent military breach of ceasefire at around 6 AM on September 27, 2020 which lead to the escalation of war. The Armenian armed forces intensively fired on the positions of the Azerbaijani army as well as densely populated civilian settlements using large caliber machine guns and sniper rifles. Therefore, there are continuous casualties among the civilian population and military personelle of Azerbaijan, many houses and civilian facilities were severely damaged. Such actions of Armenia overburden medical facilities as well as healthcare system of Azerbaijan, especially during pandemic.The deliberate targeting of civilians is a gross violation of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949. This is the continuation of military provocation happened in Tovuz in July 2020. Moreover, Armenia also settles many terrorists from different countries, such as Lebanon and Syria in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and recruits them for their army to fight against our army. Unfortunately, Armenia does not want to implement UN Security Council Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884, UN General Assembly resolutions on the Situation in the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan adopted in 2006 and 2008, and ignors the appeals of the WHO and other influential international organizations regarding the current pandemic, as well as the norms and principles of international law.Moreover, the Board Members of AHYU thanked Hungary for supporting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan since the conflict started. It was also noted that Azerbaijani-Hungarian relationship improved over last several years, especially trade, scholarship programs, business opportunities and cooperation on youth level improved between two countries. There are currently more than one thousand Azerbaijani people who live, work and study in Hungary and they are deeply concerned that peace in the Caucasus region is under a grave danger.;A
HU;Azerbaijani community in Hungary is worried about the situation on the frontline between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces;Azerbaijani-Hungarian Youth Union (AHYU) contacted Daily News Hungary to express the worry of Azerbaijani community living in Hungary about Armenia’s violent military breach of ceasefire.  Armenian army has been attacking Azerbaijan with heavy artillery in the direction of Tovuz region since the 12th of July with the aim of occupying additional lands from Azerbaijan, which resulted in death of Azerbaijani soldiers, army personnel and civilians. An elderly 76 years old resident of Tovuz named Aziz Azizov was killed as the result of the shelling of civilian targets by Armenia and Azerbaijani-Hungarian Youth Union asks international community to condemn Armenia for killing civilians.As a result of these actions, Azerbaijani army had to respond to the occupation efforts within its internationally recognized borders in order to protect local civilians of Tovuz region and stop Armenia from further acts of aggression. Azerbaijani military response caused the loss of Armenian military personnel and equipment and currently, the situation remains tense in the frontline around Tovuz region.That was a totally ridiculous statement, because if Azerbaijani army personnel were the first side to attack, the used military equipment wouldn’t be UAZ car, but much stronger and devastating ones. Moreover, Azerbaijani losses were much bigger than Armenian losses when the attack started which also shows that Azerbaijan was the victim of undeclared war again. However, Azerbaijani army had to respond to these military attacks and caused heavy losses for Armenian army in the recent days. AHYU suggested that Armenia was willing to involve the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the conflict by creating tension at the border. However, the initiated and planned extraordinary permanent council meeting of the CSTO regarding this issue was cancelled in the end as the other member countries knew well about the intentions of Armenia. Moreover, Armenia also aims to destabilize the region and put the realization of international energy deals between Azerbaijan and Europe which harms the interest of the European Member states including Hungary. Such military escalations are especially inhumane during pandemic when most military conflicts across the world are stopped.These resolutions also reaffirm that those territories are integral part of Azerbaijan. Tovuz is not within Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions, therefore it seems Armenia wants to open a new military frontline with Azerbaijan.It was also noted that Azerbaijani-Hungarian relationship improved over last several years, especially trade, business opportunities and cooperation on youth level improved between two countries. There are currently hundreds of Azerbaijani people who live, work and study in Hungary and they are deeply concerned that peace in the Caucasus region is under danger. Azerbaijani community of Hungary calls the international community to demand from Armenia to stop the illegal occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories, withdraw its military troops from occupied lands and engage constructively in the conflict settlement process in accordance with the requirements of the relevant resolutions of the UN as well as the other norms and principles of international law.;A
HU;Armenian armed forces target Azerbaijani civilians, tensions rise again in the zone of occupation;Continuous Armenian military build-up on the east and almost daily provocations aimed to test the extent of Baku’s patience has sparkled the flame of a full-scale war on the line of contact and state border with Azerbaijan on Sunday morning.Following massive Armenian artillery shelling of the Azerbaijani villages along the border and the early reports of civilian deaths and destruction of residential houses, the President of Azerbaijan, who is under the constitution also the Commander-in-Chief of the Azerbaijani army, ordered the counter-offensive with the aim to silence the enemy’s firing positions, reported Azerbaijani state media.As the Armenian military blatantly violated the ceasefire, the Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev made a statement, informing about the Armenia’s night assault on the Azerbaijani villages of Gapanli of Tartar district, Chiragli and Orta Garavand of Aghdam district, Alkhanli and Shukurbayli of Fuzuli district and Jojug Marjanli of Jabrayil district. “The bombardment of densely populated civilian areas and installations situated along the front line by Armenia’s armed forces has been deliberate and targeted. There are reports of dead and wounded among civilians and military servicemen. Extensive damage has been inflicted on many homes and civilian infrastructure”, Read more at: https://dailynewshungary.com/armenian-armed-forces-target-azerbaijani-civilians-tensions-rise-again-in-the-zone-of-occupation-photos/“The bombardment of densely populated civilian areas and installations situated along the front line by Armenia’s armed forces has been deliberate and targeted. There are reports of dead and wounded among civilians and military servicemen. Extensive damage has been inflicted on many homes and civilian infrastructure”,said Hajiyev. He reminded that Azerbaijan had warned many times that Armenia is preparing for a new act of aggression and war, Armenia’s ongoing military aggression against Azerbaijan and the presence of the armed forces of Armenia in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories posed significant threat to regional peace and security.Targeting the civilian population is a tactic incorporated in the combat training of Armenia’s armed forces, and the Khojaly genocide perpetrated in February 1992 has been a vivid testimony to that. According to the international law, Armenian armed forces’ strikes against the positions of Azerbaijan’s army, against the civilians and civilian infrastructure, with the use of large-caliber weapons, are Armenia’s yet another military aggression and an act of the use of force against Azerbaijan”, said Hajiyev, charging Yerevan with the full responsibility for the current tensions.;A
HU;Armenian artillery shells Azerbaijani positions;On July 12, the Armenian artillery shelled the Azerbaijani positions in the Tovuz district. The Azerbaijani military responded with counterfire and prevented the advancement of the Armenian armed forces. As a result of the fire exchange, the Armenian troops failed to advance and were forced to retreat with no territorial gains. Currently, Azerbaijan’s armed forces fully control the situation on the ground. According to Xinhua, four Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in a fresh wave of clashes on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border.Three soldiers were killed on Sunday and one on Monday in artillery fire near the northern Tavush region, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense said on Monday. According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, at least two Armenian police officers were wounded in the clashes. The two countries have traded accusations over which side started the fighting and violated the ceasefire.The deadly clashes were reportedly erupted on Sunday in the Tavush region between the two countries. As a member of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Minsk Group co-chairs, Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed concern in a statement over the escalation of the clashes and urged the two countries to exercise restraint.“The enemy received an adequate response yesterday and this night. Our servicemen have been avenged and we will continue to do so in the future,” said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at a meeting of the Security Council on Monday. “The blood of our servicemen and martyrs does not and will not remain on the ground. We will use every opportunity to defend ourselves and show the enemy its place again,” the head of state added.said Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Issues Department of the Administration Hikmat Hajiyev. “The troops of the State Border Service have been deployed along the extensive part of the state border in Gazakh and Tovuz districts from Azerbaijan’s side, to prevent provocations and reduce cases that can lead to tensions on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia, on the contrary, has continued to militarize the border between two countries, while deliberately and systematically targeting the civilians.”“Such military recklessness on the part of Armenia pursues an objective of drawing the military-political organizations to which it is a party to into the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, and evade the responsibility of occupation and aggression against Azerbaijan. Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan that has lasted for nearly 30 years and provocations perpetrated along the border also contravene the legal documents of the military-political organizations to which Armenia is a member,” he noted. Armenian defense ministry tried to deny that its troops shelled the villages, but the photos released in media prove the opposite.  In blatant violation of the UN Charter and other legal international obligations Armenia has carried out military aggression against Azerbaijan and occupied Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The UN Security Council resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 demand full and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Hikmat Hajiyev said.   “We call upon the international community to condemn Armenia’s policy of occupation against Azerbaijan and its provocative actions perpetrated along the border. Armenia’s leadership bears full and sole responsibility for the current situation,” he added.   As a result of the Armenian shelling, serious damage was inflicted to the residential houses in the nearby settlements. Civilians were wounded, including infants, cattle killed, agricultural machinery damaged.Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, but there have been occasional minor clashes along the borders.;A
IR;Azerbaijan stages parade to mark Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal;A military parade has been held in the Azerbaijani capital in celebration of the peace deal with Armenia that saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The agreement took force exactly a month ago and put an end to six weeks of fierce fighting between the two ex-Soviet nations over Nagorno-Karabakh. It was seen as a major victory in Azerbaijan, but prompted mass protests in Armenia, with opposition supporters demanding the ouster of the country’s prime minister over his handling of the conflict. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands. More than 3,000 people took part in the parade on Thursday, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the event. Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan during the conflict, which it used to expand its influence in the region. A Turkish commando brigade took part in the parade in which Turkish drones were also put on display. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev thanked Turkey for its support in his speech. Mr Aliyev said: “From the first hours of the war, we felt the support of Turkey. This is an example of our unity, our brotherhood.” The Azerbaijani president said the country was able to “restore historical justice” and blamed Armenia for starting the fighting. Mr Erdogan also took aim at Armenia in his speech, and expressed hope the country would “take lessons” from the defeat and take steps that would pave the way for a new era in the region. He said: “We hope that Armenian leaders will assess this carefully and take courageous steps to build a future based on peace and stability.” He reiterated Turkey’s continued support for Azerbaijan: “As long as Turkey and Azerbaijan work hand in glove, they will continue to overcome all difficulties and run from one success to the next.” In 44 days of fighting that began in late September and left more than 5,600 people killed on both sides, the Azerbaijani army advanced deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept the peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region along with surrounding areas. The Russia-brokered deal took effect on November 10 and ended the violence. Thousands in Armenia have since regularly protested, demanding that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan steps down. The country’s opposition leaders hold Mr Pashinyan responsible for failing to negotiate an earlier end to the hostilities at terms that could have been more beneficial for Armenia. They have emphasised, however, that the opposition was not pushing for an annulment of the peace deal. As Mr Aliyev and Mr Erdogan watched the parade in Baku, several thousand people in Armenia’s capital demonstrated in front of the government building, calling for Mr Pashinyan to step down. Protesters tried to enter the building, hoping to meet with the prime minister, but were deterred by police. Dozens have been detained.;E
IR;The Irish Times view on Nagorno-Karabakh: an enforced truce;After six weeks of bloody fighting in which thousands have died, Armenia and Azerbaijan have signed a ceasefire agreement to end the war for control of the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. It will see 2,000 Russian peacekeepers deployed in the disputed Caucasus territory.Facing substantial territorial losses, Armenia’s prime minister Nikol Pashinyan reluctantly signed a Russian-brokered deal that accepts the new reality on the ground, but he has faced an angry response in the capital Yerevan at what is alleged to be “surrender”. Pashinyan described the truce terms as “unbelievably painful” but necessary due to “a deep analysis of the military situation”. The Armenians were no match for Azeri forces equipped with an airborne fleet of Israeli and Turkish drones that has inflicted major damage on tanks, air defences and heavy weapons.The region is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani but populated by ethnic Armenians, and large districts extending from Armenia to the enclave have been controlled by Yerevan since the early 1990s. The deal guarantees a land corridor linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, as well as a staggered withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azeri districts around the enclave.Baku has the strong support of Turkey, while Russia, the dominant geopolitical power in the region, sought to remain neutral. There were concerns that, unresolved, the dispute would embroil the regional powers in direct clashes.Although three earlier ceasefires collapsed, Monday’s agreement appears more likely to be sustainable in redrawing the local map in a way that restores Azerbaijan control of lost territories but leaves the enclave substantially intact with the exception of its second city Shusha which has fallen to Azeri control. But the long-term future independence of the enclave is not resolved and will remain a running sore between the two.Armenia had defied UN resolutions calling for the return of the displaced Azeri residents to the districts lost in 1994. They may now be able to go back to what are largely ghost villages.;N
IR;Russia-Turkey rivalry looms over Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal;An agreement to end fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over Nagorno-Karabakh sets the stage for a more intense rivalry between Russia and Turkey in the south Caucasus and beyond.Moscow deployed some 2,000 troops to Nagorno-Karabakh as the deal took effect on Tuesday. It was an operation that looked as swift and decisive as Russia’s previous efforts to end the crisis were weak and unsuccessful.Three earlier attempts to impose a Russian-brokered ceasefire failed and, while Moscow made clear that it would only assist its ally Armenia if fighting spread to its territory, Azerbaijan benefited from Ankara’s vocal political support, the firepower of its advanced drones, and the reassuring presence of Turkish fighter jets stationed at an Azeri airfield.As the Kremlin sought to preserve good ties with both ex-Soviet states, Turkey moved in lockstep with Baku in decrying three decades of negotiations mediated by Russia, France and the United States and making clear that Azerbaijan would now retake Nagorno-Karabakh by force unless Armenian troops withdrew.The restoration of Azeri control over the whole of Nagorno-Karabakh – which became a possibility this week – could have caused a humanitarian disaster for its ethnic Armenian residents. At the same time, it would have deprived Russia of much of its leverage over Armenia and Azerbaijan.By stepping in now, as signatory to a peace deal that leaves the status of core areas of Nagorno-Karabakh in question, Russia has ensured that through its peacekeepers and diplomats it retains a key role in the future of the south Caucasus and remains an important arbiter in relations between Yerevan and Baku.Without signing any deals or deploying troops, however, Turkey has also now made itself a powerful player in regional political, economic and military affairs.Azerbaijan says Turkish and Russian officers will staff a centre to monitor implementation of the peace accord. More importantly, the deal provides for a road cutting through Armenia to link most of Azerbaijan with its exclave on the Turkish border, giving Turkey a direct land corridor to all of its ally’s territory.Most significantly, perhaps, Azerbaijan and Turkey have shown that the course of a major dispute between ex-Soviet states can be changed without Kremlin approval, and with no significant EU or US involvement.Whether Russia and Turkey now co-operate or clash in the south Caucasus – at a time when they back opposing sides in war-torn Syria and Libya – will be crucial to the region’s long-term peace.;N
IR;Armenia leader orders end to fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh;Armenia’s prime minister says he has ordered an end to fighting with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Nikol Pashinian said on Facebook that he had signed an agreement with the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia to halt the fighting that has raged since late September. He wrote that the decision was “extremely painful for me personally and for our people”. Nagorno-Karabakh is a region inside Azerbaijan that has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994. Mr Pashinian’s announcement came after Azerbaijani forces seized the strategically key city of Shushi.;N
IR;Armenian leader defies angry protests over Nagorno-Karabakh deal;Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan has rejected calls to resign over a deal that gives Azerbaijan control over swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh, as Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the disputed region after six weeks of fighting.Thousands of angry Armenians rallied in their capital, Yerevan, on Thursday, despite the arrest of dozens of protesters and at least 10 opposition leaders during an earlier march at which they denounced the deal as “treachery” and “surrender”.The Moscow-brokered accord came into force on Tuesday, ending clashes that killed well over 1,000 people in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region of Azerbaijan run by its ethnic Armenian majority since a war in the early 1990s.The agreement locks in major battlefield gains made by Azeri forces since they began an offensive in late September, and leaves the province’s separatist Armenian administration in charge of significantly reduced territory that will soon be patrolled by Russian peacekeepers. Critics of the pact stormed parliament in Yerevan when it was announced.Mr Pashinyan said on Thursday that he signed the deal when it became clear that several key towns, including the regional capital Stepanakert, would soon fall and “20,000 Armenian troops and officers could find themselves surrounded by enemy troops, facing the prospect of being killed or captured”.“Our priority now is to restore the atmosphere of stability and security in the country ... The government will not give in to provocations from rebel groups sponsored by the former authorities,” he added.“The organisers of the riots and many of the active participants have been arrested, many are in hiding, but they will definitely be found and brought to justice. I call on all our compatriots not to give in to provocations but to unite around a government that is determined ... to get the country out of this situation.”Elites blamedMr Pashinyan lambasted the political elites that he challenged when taking power in a peaceful 2018 revolution, blaming their rampant corruption for weakening the nation’s military. He also reassured ethnic Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh that Russian peacekeepers would protect them.Moscow has started deploying 1,960 troops to the region, with armoured vehicles and helicopters, under an initial five-year mandate that includes responsibility for guarding the main road between Stepanakert and Armenia.Russia has rejected claims from Turkey that its peacekeepers will also patrol the province, as Ankara looks to convert its strong support for Azerbaijan’s military offensive into greater influence in the strategic south Caucasus.Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Turkish and Russian officers would work together at a centre for monitoring implementation of the peace deal, which would be located on Azeri territory some distance from Nagorno-Karabakh.His Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said Armenia must now “hand over all occupied lands . . . Azerbaijan is in favour of a peaceful solution but if Armenia insists on violating the agreement, then it will have to bear the consequences.”In Yerevan, Mr Pashinyan insisted the long-running dispute was far from over.This week’s deal “only implies cessation of hostilities”, he said. “The Nagorno-Karabakh issue was not resolved before the signing of the [agreement], nor has it been settled after it. There is still much to be done in this respect.”;A
IR;Azerbaijani leader hails handover of region ceded by Armenia;Azerbaijan’s president declared his forces have taken control of the Aghdam region – a territory ceded by Armenia in a ceasefire agreement over Nagorno-Karabakh. The truce, brokered by Russia last week, stipulated that Armenia hand over control of some areas its holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders to Azerbaijan. Aghdam is the first one to be turned over. In an address to the nation, president Ilham Aliyev said: “Today, with a feeling of endless pride, I am informing my people about the liberation of Aghdam. “Aghdam is ours!” Crowds of people carrying national flags gathered in the Azerbaijani capital Baku to celebrate the handover. Nagorno-Karabakh is a region that lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since 1994. Following the end of a separatist war there, Nagorno-Karabakh and substantial surrounding territory was left in Armenian hands. Heavy fighting that flared up on September 27 marked the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between the two nations in more than 25 years. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed The truce last week halted the violence after several failed attempts to establish a lasting ceasefire. It came two days after Azerbaijan, which had made significant advances, announced it had seized the strategically important city of Shusha. Mr Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is taking over the Aghdam region “without a single shot (fired) or losses (suffered)”. He hailed it a “great political success” that wouldn’t have been possible without military gains. “Azerbaijan was able to achieve what it wanted on the political arena after having won a brilliant victory on the battlefield,” the president said. The agreement, celebrated as a victory in Azerbaijan, has left many Armenians bitter. Mass protests erupted in the Armenian capital Yerevan immediately after the peace deal was announced last week. Many ethnic Armenians have been leaving the territories that are to be handed over to Azerbaijan, setting their houses on fire in a bitter farewell gesture. Although regaining the region is a triumph for Azerbaijan, the joy of returning is shot through with grief and anger. The region’s main city Aghdam was once home to 50,000, known for its white homes and an elaborate three-storey teahouse. However, it is so ruined that it is sometimes called the “Hiroshima of the Caucasus”. After the population was driven out in 1993 by fighting, they were followed by Armenian pillagers who stripped the city bare, seeking both booty and construction materials. One of the city’s happier eccentricities, the bread museum, is in ruins. The cognac factory is gone. Today, the only structurally whole building is the mosque. From the top of the elaborately patterned minarets, the view is of a vast expanse of jagged concrete and houses reduced to shells, all encroached upon by a quarter-century’s growth of vegetation.;A
IR;Azerbaijani army enters territory ceded by Armenian forces;Azerbaijani army units have entered the Aghdam region, a territory ceded by Armenian forces in a ceasefire agreement that ended six weeks of heavy fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The truce, brokered by Russia last week, stipulated that Armenia should hand over control of some areas its holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders to Azerbaijan. The first one, Aghdam, is to be turned over on Friday. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands. Heavy fighting that flared up on September 27 marked the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between the two former Soviet nations in over a quarter of a century, killing hundreds and possibly thousands of people. The truce last week halted the violence after several failed attempts to establish a lasting ceasefire. It was celebrated as a victory in Azerbaijan, but sparked mass protests in Armenia, with thousands regularly taking to the streets to demand the ouster of the country’s prime minister.;N
IR;Azerbaijan says thousands of its troops were killed in separatist clashes;Azerbaijani authorities disclosed for the first time details of the country’s military casualties in the recent fighting with Armenian forces over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was halted last month by a Russian-brokered truce. Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said that 2,783 troops were killed during the 44 days of intense clashes, and 103 of them are yet to be identified. More than 100 servicemen are considered to be unaccounted for, the ministry said, and 1,245 are currently undergoing treatment in medical facilities. President Ilham Aliyev said earlier this week that 94 Azerbaijani civilians were also killed and 400 more have been wounded. On Thursday, he signed a decree ordering a moment of silence at 12.00pm local time on Friday to honour the victims of the fighting. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands. Heavy fighting erupted in late September, marking the biggest escalation of a long-simmering conflict between the two ex-Soviet nations. The violence was halted by a Russian-brokered peace deal that took effect on November 10. The agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control to Azerbaijan of several regions it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. Azerbaijan also retained control over areas of Nagorno-Karabakh it has taken during the conflict. The deal was celebrated in Baku as a major victory. Mr Aliyev on Wednesday declared a new national holiday, dubbed Victory Day, to mark the day when the truce entered force. On Thursday, Mr Aliyev’s office announced moving the holiday to November 8, when the strategically important city in Nagorno-Karabakh, Shusha, was taken by Azerbaijani forces. Mr Aliyev made the decision as November 10 is Ataturk Memorial Day in Turkey, Azerbaijan’s major ally, a statement by the Azerbaijani presidential administration read. In Armenia, the peace deal sparked outrage. Mass protests erupted in the capital Yerevan, with thousands regularly taking to the streets to demand the ousting of the country’s prime minister.;A
IR;Dozens detained in protests against Armenia’s prime minister;Police in the Armenian capital detained dozens of people during protests against the country’s prime minister, who is being pressured to resign over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Opposition politicians and their supporters have been demanding for weeks that Nikol Pashinyan step down over the November 10 peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. The Russia-brokered agreement ended 44 days of fierce fighting in which the Azerbaijani army routed Armenian forces. Police detained 77 people following clashes when thousands of protesters converged on centre of the capital Yerevan and surrounded the heavily guarded government building. Mr Pashinyan and other cabinet members were able to get into the building despite the unrest. “Now our goal is that they don’t get out until Nikol Pashinyan resigns,” Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a leading member of the opposition Dashnaktsutyun party, was quoted as saying by the Russian state Tass news agency. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands. Heavy fighting erupted in late September in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, killing more than 5,600 people on both sides. The Russian-brokered peace agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control of some areas it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. Azerbaijan also retained control over areas of Nagorno-Karabakh it had taken during the conflict. The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets. Mr Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.;N
IR;Russia hosts Armenia-Azerbaijan Ceasefire Talks;"Russia has moved to stop the worst escalation of fighting in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh in more than a quarter of a century by hosting ceasefire talks. Late yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a statement calling for a break in the fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces that have raged for nearly two weeks over the region. The Kremlin said Mr Putin's initiative followed a series of calls with Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev. The latest outburst of fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces began on September 27 and marked the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been controlled by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994. The Kremlin said Mr Putin proposed a ceasefire to exchange prisoners and collect the bodies of dead soldiers. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov greeted his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts at the ministry's mansion in Moscow on Friday afternoon. Armenia said it is open to holding a ceasefire, while Azerbaijan has made a potential truce conditional on Armenian forces' withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, arguing that the failure of international efforts to negotiate a settlement left it no other choice but to try to reclaim its lands by force. Speaking in an address to the nation, the Azerbaijani president said nearly three decades of international talks ""haven't yielded an inch of progress, we haven't been given back an inch of the occupied lands"". ""Mediators and leaders of some international organisations have stated that there is no military solution to the conflict,"" Mr Aliyev said. ""I have disagreed with the thesis, and I have been right. The conflict is now being settled by military means and political means will come next."" Azerbaijani officials and Nagorno-Karabakh separatist authorities said heavy shelling continued overnight. Fighting with heavy artillery, planes and drones has engulfed Nagorno-Karabakh despite numerous international calls for a ceasefire. Both sides have accused each other of targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure. Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been under intense shelling, and residents are staying in shelters, some of which are in the basements of apartment buildings. On Thursday, a historic cathedral in the town of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh was shelled, a missile piercing its dome and damaging the interior. No one was hurt in the attack, but hours later more shelling wounded two Russian journalists inspecting the damage. The Azerbaijani military denied targeting the cathedral. According to the Nagorno-Karabakh military, 376 of its servicemen have been killed since September 27. Azerbaijan has not provided details on its military losses. Scores of civilians on both sides have also been killed. Armenian officials say Turkey is involved in the conflict and is sending Syrian mercenaries to fight on Azerbaijan's side. Turkey has publicly backed Azerbaijan in the conflict but has denied sending combatants to the region. In an interview with CNN Arabic, Azerbaijan's president admitted Turkish F-16 fighter jets have stayed on in Azerbaijan weeks after a joint military exercise, but insisted that they have remained grounded. Armenian officials had earlier claimed that a Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian plane, a claim Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied. Mr Aliyev's office said French President Emmanuel Macron called him on Friday to discuss the conflict, but would not give any details of the conversation. The call followed Mr Macron's conversation with the Armenian prime minister late Thursday. The French leader's office voiced hope that a truce could be negotiated soon, noting that it was co-ordinating its efforts with the Kremlin.";N
IR;Ireland’s Armenians: ‘My home has again become a big pile of ruins’;Ten years ago Aram Hakhumyan and his wife were married in the Armenian Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi, in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. One month ago Hakhumyan, who has lived in Ireland for seven years, woke up to the devastating news that his family’s beloved cathedral had been badly damaged during air raids in the area.“The situation is so stressful, my heart is bleeding for my people,” he told The Irish Times from his home in Celbridge, Co Kildare. “I’ve taken time off work just to be able to cope with the situation. My ancestors lived in that area for centuries. Shushi is the city of my grandparents. After the war ended in 1994 we spent 30 years rebuilding it. But now again it has just become a big pile of ruins.”Hakhumyan says his 21-year-old nephew was left in a coma after he was wounded during the initial days of the conflict over the mountain enclave. He has two brothers fighting on the frontline while his sister, he adds, lost her home in a bombing attack. More than 1,000 people, and possibly many more, have been killed since fighting erupted in late September.We are only 150,000 people living on a small plot of land in the mountains but we exist and we have the right to live and live in peaceNagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians. On Saturday, Armenia and Azerbaijan again accused each other of bombing residential areas in defiance of a pact between the two countries’ foreign ministers, who met envoys from France, Russia and the United States in Geneva last week.Three attempts to implement a ceasefire between the sides have failed and Azerbaijan – backed by its chief ally, Turkey – says that by force or through diplomacy it is now determined to retake control of this breakaway region that has been run by its ethnic Armenian majority since a war in the 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives.Hakhumyan says the only people left in the region are those fighting in the conflict and elderly people who refuse to leave their homes. All the rest have fled seeking safety in Armenia. “The world must understand that this war is not about territory, religion, or anything else, it is about the very existence of people of Artsakh,” he says. “We are only 150,000 people living on a small plot of land in the mountains but we exist and we have the right to live and live in peace.”DevastatingVahe Sasunts, a 23-year-old software developer who was born and brought up in Ireland and is the child of Armenian immigrants, has lost a cousin in the conflict. Sasunts, who recently graduated from Trinity College and started his “dream job” with a large tech company, says watching the violence unfold in the region, where is mother’s family is from, is devastating. He regularly finds his mother reading the news in tears and is struggling to concentrate on his work.Vahe Sasunts, a 23-year-old software developer from Kildare, whose parents came to Ireland from Armenia“I thought I was just starting my adult life. I’d finished college, I was gonna save up and buy a house and car, and it just feels like all those things aren’t as important in my life anymore. I feel there’s a part of me that’s always worried now, always anxious, always wondering how my family are back home,” he says.With communication lines damaged in recent bombings, his family are struggling to stay in touch with loved ones in Nagorno-Karabakh. “We’re trying not to lose hope and faith, we’re just trying to support one another.”Sasunts is a member of a group of Irish-Armenians who have called on the Government to take a stronger stance on the violence. As a member of the UN Security Council, Ireland must stand up for justice in other nations, he says. “I would like to see Ireland prove that it is really believes in freedom of speech and human rights. It’s what Ireland fought for for years, and we achieved it, but we’re not advocating it for other places.”In a letter sent to the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee accompanying a petition signed by more than 1,100 people, the Irish-Armenian community said the ongoing conflict grossly violated “all the principles of human rights and international humanitarian law”.The letter, sent in early October, said further violence in the region could “potentially lead to an absolute catastrophe not only in the south Caucasus but also in the world by provoking involvement of other major countries, causing more destruction and taking more human lives”.AggressionThe group has called on Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney to condemn Azerbaijan for its aggression against the region and Turkey for its political and military involvement in the conflict.Covid-19 cases are rising, there is not enough oxygen and now they are heavily bombarding hospitals. It’s absolute catastrophe, it really is a humanitarian crisisDr Diana Minasyan, an ophthalmologist based in Cork, says the ongoing violence has reignited memories of the 1915 Armenian genocide during which nearly 1.5 million people were killed by the Ottoman Turks. Turkey’s backing of Azerbaijan’s drive to retake the mountainous province further embeds that sense of fear among Armenians worldwide, she says.Like many Armenians in Ireland, Minasyan, who has Irish citizenship and has lived here since 2002, has family in the contested region and cousins fighting on the frontline. One cousin has been left paralysed after he was hit in a cluster bomb attack, she says. And the coronavirus pandemic continues to be a real problem in the region, she adds.“Covid-19 cases are rising, there is not enough oxygen and now they are heavily bombarding hospitals. It’s absolute catastrophe, it really is a humanitarian crisis,” she says.Minasyan signed the petition sent to the Government because she fears the violence could destabilise all of the Caucasus region. She says no Armenian wants to fight but that men are taking up arms to “keep their children safe. All they want is to live their daily lives and have an ordinary life.”;E
IR;Thousands demand Armenian PM’s resignation at rally;Tens of thousands of opposition supporters have marched across the Armenian capital to push for the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation’s prime minister over his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. In six weeks of fierce fighting that ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal on November 10, the Azerbaijani army reclaimed lands that Armenian forces have held for more than a quarter of a century. Armenia’s opposition parties warned the prime minister Nikol Pashinyan there would be civil disobedience across the country if he does not resign by noon on Tuesday. Mr Pashinyan has refused to step down, defending the peace agreement as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region. More than 20,000 protesters rallied in Yerevan on Saturday, before marching to the prime minister’s official residence. Artur Vanetsyan, the leader of the opposition party Homeland and the former head of the National Security Service, said at the protest rally: “The seat of the prime minister of Armenia is currently being occupied by a political corpse.” Several priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church joined the protest, denouncing Mr Pashinyan for allowing Azerbaijan to take over some holy sites. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan, but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That conflict left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but large chunks of surrounding lands in Armenian hands. In 44 days of fighting that began on September 27, Azerbaijan troops routed the Armenian forces and wedged deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept the November 10 peace deal that saw the return to Azerbaijan of a significant part of the separatist region. It also obliged Armenia to hand over all of the areas it held outside Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan completed reclaiming those territories on Tuesday when it took over the Lachin region, located between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Azerbaijan celebrated the end of fighting as a national triumph, and the country’s president Ilham Aliyev established a new November 8 national holiday called Victory Day to commemorate the event. Armenian opposition leaders hold Mr Pashinyan responsible for failing to negotiate an earlier end to the hostilities at terms that could have been more beneficial for Armenia. They have emphasised, however, that the opposition was not pushing for the annulment of the peace deal. Veteran politician Vazgen Manukyan, whom 17 opposition parties have nominated as their candidate for prime minister, said at Saturday’s rally that his transition government would seek to renegotiate some vague aspects of the November 10 peace deal. Mr Manukyan, 71, served as prime minister in 1990-91, when Armenia was part of the Soviet Union and later served as defence minister during the separatist war. On Thursday, Azerbaijan released information on its military casualties from the latest fighting. The defence ministry said 2,783 troops were killed and more than 100 are still missing. The government said 94 of its civilians also were killed and more than 400 were wounded. Armenia’s health ministry said on Wednesday that at least 2,718 Armenian servicemen were killed in the fighting. At least 55 Armenian civilians also were killed. Russia has deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace deal and to facilitate the return of refugees. The Russian troops will also ensure safe transit between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia across the Lachin region.;N
IR;Armenians hope their fighting spirit will save them amid Nagorno-Karabakh conflict;The children are gone and only a few women remain. Stepanakert, the de facto capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, has become a city of men. The streets are quiet aside from the odd ambulance, military Jeep or Lada banger grunting along. The supermarket shelves are thinning and the menu options at the Armenia Hotel leave much to be desired.So much of this war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which erupted on September 27th, is from another time. In the south it’s mostly trench warfare, where young men huddle in shallow narrow trenches. Decaying bodies are scattered across no man’s land – there are reports of wild pigs tearing at rotting flesh at night.In villages, families are packed on to buses and sent to Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. Some refuse to leave and retreat to a life underground. Every day brings rumours of Azeri advances, fresh propaganda and stories of loss.In Stepanakert you can talk about the war, but you cannot analyse it. The Armenians’ love for this land, and their willingness to die for it, has hindered their ability to talk about it frankly. A dark flash crosses their face when you mention Azeri gains or press for facts about strategy.They are a nation of fighters and firmly believe their fighting spirit, coupled with their advantage of having the higher ground in Nagorno-Karabakh, will save them in the end. When asked in an interview with this reporter how the Armenians can defend against Azeri drones, which have been supplied by Turkey and Israel and have inflicted heavy losses, the president of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, said: “This is a sacred war, and the side who fights a sacred fight, wins.”;E
IT;Nagorno-Karabakh, contribution of Italian Cooperation.;In response to the humanitarian emergency caused by the escalation of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Italian Cooperation system, at the instigation of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Emanuela Del Re, has contributed 500,000 euros to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).Thanks to the Italian contribution, the ICRC will be able to strengthen its activities in providing essential humanitarian services, such as food and shelter, to the more than 75,000 displaced persons affected by the conflict, on both sides of the line of contact, and in collaboration with both the Armenian Red Cross and the Azerbaijani Red Crescent.;N
IT;Note of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Nagorno Karabakh;taly welcomes the renewed humanitarian truce agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the weekend with the mediation of France in its capacity as co-chair of the Minsk Group and calls on the parties to respect their commitments, putting an end to any breach of the agreement.We express our condolences for the many civilian casualties. We strongly condemn the attacks on Ganja, as well as the indiscriminate bombing of populated areas on both sides, particularly in Stepanakert/Khankendi.We, therefore, join with the appeals of the UN Secretary-General and the international community for full respect of international humanitarian law on both sides, to put an end to any further suffering to their respective populations already sorely tried by many years of conflict.We also renew our strong hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will once again engage in a constructive dialogue, within the negotiating framework of the Minsk Group. We strongly support the efforts made by its Co-Presidents to this end.;N
IT;Ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh;taly welcomes with relief the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh, reached by means of a tripartite declaration signed by Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Russian Federation, and hopes that it will be fully respected. We also take note of the other agreements reached between the parties, in the hope that they can open the way for the entire area to be stabilised and enjoy peace. In this regard, Italy wishes to highlight the importance of respecting the identity of each community, as well as the cultural and religious diversity of the area, as a prerequisite for intra-regional reconciliation. As a member of the Minsk Group, Italy guarantees its full support for the co-Chairpersons, with a view to consolidation of the ceasefire, an essential precondition for a lasting solution to the conflict. Italy will also play its part in the context of the EU, in the stabilisation and growth of the region that, besides other things, is an important hub for connectivity and energy supplies for Europe and for our own Country.;N
KZ;The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan has been saved;In today's program we will focus on the victory of Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.Heavy clashes broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27, 2020 due to the Armenian attack. After the capture of Shusha by the Azerbaijani army, Armenia was forced to accept the defeat and sign a ceasefire agreement. The tripartite agreement with Russia was signed on November 10, 2020.During the 44-day war, the Azerbaijani army rescued 7 occupied territories and 7 villages, including Shusha. The status of Nagorno-Karabakh will be clarified later. According to the agreement, Aghdam region will be liberated on November 20, Kelbezer on November 25, and Lachin on December 1. Displaced immigrants return to their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Migration.According to Article 3 of the agreement, a total of 1,960 troops and more than 450 Russian peacekeepers are stationed on the front line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor. The Russian peacekeeping force has been in the region for five years. Turkish and Russian Defense Ministers have signed an agreement on the establishment of Turkish-Russian monitoring centers to monitor the ceasefire.Article 9 of this agreement provides for the opening of a corridor connecting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to Azerbaijan. Thus, Turkey is connected with Azerbaijan and the Central Asian region by land. Once the Kars-Igdyr-Nakhichevan railway project is completed, the next step will be the construction of a railway connecting Nakhichevan to Baku.After the agreement, Armenia was in turmoil. Protesters in Yerevan are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Security and surveillance forces also jailed the opposition on suspicion of plotting a coup.During the war, more than 100 civilians were killed in Azerbaijan due to Armenian attacks. Armenia has attacked civilians and committed war and inhumane crimes.The burning and destruction of houses, schools and forests by Armenians fleeing the occupied territories in accordance with the agreement showed that they did not accept this land as their homeland. On the contrary, when Azerbaijanis were expelled from the region in 1994, they believed that one day they would return home with the keys to their homes. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that Armenia should pay for the damage it has done to the occupied territories.The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan has launched an investigation into members of the PKK / PYD / YPG terrorist organization who came to Nagorno-Karabakh from Syria, Lebanon and Iraq to fight the Azerbaijani army. The dreams of the imperialist powers to turn Karabakh into a hotbed of terror have come to naught. At the end of the war, it became clear that the main power in the region was Turkey and Russia, and that Western countries had lost their old forces in the region.The victory of Nagorno-Karabakh glorified the faith of the Turkic world. In time, other Turkish territories will be liberated. Attempts to unite the Turkic world will accelerate from now on.;A
KZ;Tokayev Addresses CSTO Council Meeting, Praises Russian Peace Deal With Armenia and Azerbaijan;Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Council meeting that gathered Dec. 2 via videoconference, reported Akorda press service.The Collective Security Treaty was signed May 15, 1992 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan by the heads of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, In 1993, it was joined by Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia and in 1994, the treaty evolved to become a fully-fledged international organization. Currently, it consists of six members –  Armenia, Belarus Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and TajikistanThe CSTO virtual meeting was attended by Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, acting President of Kyrgyzstan Talant Mamytov and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan as well as CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas. CSTO heads of states discussed international and regional security issues, summed up the work in the CSTO priority areas this year and outlined future plans. Russia transferred the chairmanship in the organization to Tajikistan for 2021. The leaders also focused on practical measures to counteract current challenges and threats, combat terrorism, drug trafficking, and cybersecurity risks.Addressing the meeting, Tokayev expressed his gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who chaired the session, for the organization of the council meeting. In his remarks on regional and global security, Tokayev noted the escalating tensions between states and commended Russia’s role as a mediator in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.“I believe the agreement reached with the participation of Russia is the only right solution in this critical situation and this agreement will contribute to long-term peace in the region. This is indeed a historic agreement,” he said. The continuing turmoil in global politics and the economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic is exacerbated by mutual sanctions, restrictions and trade wars, said Tokayev. “The growth of new global challenges and threats related to extremism and terrorism, drug trafficking, cybersecurity and illegal migration, remains a concern. Under these conditions, the role of the CSTO is growing as an effective mechanism of interstate cooperation to strengthen peace, security and stability in the vast region,” said Akorda press service. During the meeting, Tokayev proposed creating a new position within the CSTO – Special Representative of CSTO Secretary General on Peacebuilding. Kazakhstan’s participation in the CSTO, he noted, is a top priority in the country’s foreign policy. “I am glad that the CSTO has increased its presence in international politics and plays a crucial role in ensuring security on a large part of the Eurasian continent. We are ready, as previously, to actively cooperate with our partners to seek effective solutions to ensure peace, security, and prosperity of our people,” he said.Upon the end of the meeting, the CSTO leaders adopted the Declaration of the Collective Security Council and the Statement on the formation of just and sustainable world order as well as 15 other documents, including a military cooperation agreement for 2021-2025, civil service training, and on the organization’s budget plan. The documents adopted at the session are aimed at further strengthening the CSTO activities, and demonstrate the openness of the organization towards expanding cooperation with other countries and international organizations.;N
KZ;Kazakh, Azerbaijani parliaments discuss situation in Nagorno-Karabakh;Majilis Speaker of Kazakhstan Nurlan Nigmatulin has held talks with Speaker of the Milli Majilis (National Assembly) of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova at the initiative of the Azerbaijani side, Kazinform has learnt from the Majilis’ press service.During the telephone talk, the sides mainly focused on the escalation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Speaker Nigmatulin told his Azerbaijani counterpart about Kazakhstan’s position outlined in the statement of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan calling the countries to resolve the conflict through peaceful negotiations. Additionally, the sides touched upon the issues of strengthening of inter-parliamentary cooperation. Earlier it was reported that on September 27 both Azerbaijan and Armenia had announced the escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Both countries declared the martial law.;N
KZ;Kazakh Foreign Ministry makes official statement on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict;The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement has been signed. Kazakh Foreign Ministry made a statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal, stating that Kazakhstan highly appreciates the agreements reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan. They correspond to the resolutions of the UN Security Council and can serve as the basis for resolving the problem in the area.“We particularly note the constructive role of the Russian Federation in reaching this agreement and its peacemaking efforts aimed at practical implementation of the agreements. We express our hope that, in this difficult period, Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples will strive to build a solid foundation for establishing lasting peace and harmony and ensuring security in the region,” said the official statement.In a joint statement announced by President of Russia Vladimir Putin, it is reported that the parties agreed on a complete ceasefire and cessation of hostilities from November 10, 2020.Armenia and Azerbaijan stopped at their occupied positions, while Russian peacekeepers were brought to Nagorno-Karabakh to bolster truce.;N
LI;State of war after fighting for Nagorno-Karabakh;After heavy fighting with numerous dead and injured in the conflict region Nagorno-Karabakh, the warring neighboring countries Armenia and Azerbaijan are now at war. In Azerbaijan, this came into force on Monday night, as President Ilham Aliyev decided on the weekend. In the ex-Soviet republic there are supposed to be curfews in some parts of the country.In Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mobilized the population in Yerevan on Sunday and declared a state of war throughout the country. Azerbaijan had previously started a military operation against Nagorno-Karabakh and captured several villages.;N
LI;Experts: Salvaging war ammunition in Nagorno-Karabakh takes years;After the end of the fighting over the conflict region Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus, experts are warning of the danger of mines and unexploded rockets and grenades.;N
LI;Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan takes control of another region;Azerbaijan has taken control of another area in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region from Armenia. The return of the Lachin region is a historic event, said President Ilham Aliyev in a speech in the capital Baku on Tuesday.;A
LI;Fire break in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region;In the embattled Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a ceasefire is to apply from Saturday afternoon (10.10.2020).Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on this, according to a statement by the Russian government. She had brokered the truce.The ceasefire should be used to hand over prisoners of war and dead soldiers. Further details of the ceasefire have yet to be negotiated.The territorial disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan have left hundreds of deaths in the embattled Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh.;N
LT;He is accused of shooting villages;"Azerbaijan accused Armenia of shooting its units across the state border at night on Monday. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan. Armenia, meanwhile, accuses Azerbaijan of shooting at Stepanakert, the main city of separatist Nagorno-Karabakh.""Armenia has violated the ceasefire regime,"" the agency said in a statement. ""Armenian armed forces have fired firearms and small arms again at Azerbaijan's army across the state border.""According to the report's authors, Armenian forces, which had suffered losses of manpower and military equipment in some sections of the front, were forced to retreat. Military operations continue on Monday morning, and the operational situation is controlled by the Azerbaijani army.Meanwhile, the Information Center under the Armenian Cabinet, citing Nagorno-Karabakh officials, announced that the Azerbaijani armed forces fired cluster munitions at the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh capital on Monday night.“The night in the settlements, except for Stepanakert, was relatively quiet. The enemy fired long-range cluster missiles at Stepanakert several times after midnight, and civilian infrastructure was damaged, ""the report said.Armenian Prime Minister: The fight for the important Nagorno-Karabakh city continuesArmenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Monday that fighting over the important Nagorno-Karabakh city of Sushi continues, although the day before Azerbaijan announced that its forces had occupied the city.If Shusha really went to Azerbaijan, it would be an important victory achieved six weeks after the start of new fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh.However, Pasinyan wrote on the social network Facebook that ""the struggle for Shushi continues"", using the Armenian name of the city.Vachram Poghosian, a spokesman for the Armenian-backed separatist leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that separated from Azerbaijan in the 1990s, wrote earlier on Facebook that Armenian forces had lost control of Shushah.Located at the epicenter of the battle, the city of strategic importance is about 15 km from the enclave’s largest city, Stepanakert, and near the main road connecting with Armenia.""We have to admit that we are still haunted by a chain of failures and that we have no control over the city of Shushi,"" Poghosian said. ""The enemy is on the outskirts of Stepanakert and the capital's existence is already in danger.""This record of a major defeat provoked speculation that Mr Poghosiano's account may have been hacked, but several Armenian media quoted him as saying that he had indeed published such a record.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced on Sunday that his forces had captured Shush, the second largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh.";A
LT;Nagorno - Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan has occupied an important city, the road to the regional capital is open;"Nagorno-Karabakh has admitted to losing control of the strategically important city of Shush. The city is no longer controlled by Nagorno-Karabakh, Vagram Pogosian, a spokesman for the regional leadership, said on Monday.As early as Sunday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced that his forces had recaptured the city. Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh initially denied this.Shusha is considered to be the most important city. The authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh themselves have announced that its loss will ultimately mean a defeat in the fight for the whole region.Nagorno-Karabakh leadership has also acknowledged that Azerbaijani units are located near the capital, Stepanakert.Aliyev said victory in the conflict with Armenia was imminent. He also announced on Monday that Azerbaijani forces had taken control of 23 more locations. Representative of the Nagorno-Karabakh leadership, V. Pogosian, wrote on Facebook: “Unfortunately, we are haunted by failures. We have completely lost control of the city of Šuša. The enemy stands at Stepanakert. Now our existence is in danger. """;A
LU;Deal to end fighting between Armenia, Azerbaijan;Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he’s signed an agreement to end the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, just days after Azerbaijani forces captured a key strategic city in the contested region.“I made that decision as a result of a deep analysis of the military situation,” he wrote in a Facebook post early Tuesday, calling it “an extremely difficult decision.”“It’s not a victory,” he wrote. “But there’s no defeat unless you consider yourself to be the loser.”The deal was signed with the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan and takes effect immediately. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the agreement would be the basis for long-term stability in the war-torn region and called for the deployment of peacekeepers, adding that Azerbaijani and Armenian troops will halt at their current positions, according to a Kremlin statement.Russia’s Defense Ministry said it’s deploying almost 2,000 peacekeepers and 90 armored personnel carriers to Nagorno-Karabakh following the accord to halt the war, the Interfax news service reported early Tuesday.Turkish forces will also be deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh as peacekeepers, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an address to the nation, the Tass news service reported.The agreement reached by the three leaders doesn’t mention Turkish peacekeepers, however. It sets out a timetable for Armenian withdrawal from occupied Azerbaijani districts outside Nagorno-Karabakh in stages by Dec. 1, and guarantees a transport corridor linking the enclave to Armenia, protected by Russian troops, according to Russia’s state-run Sputnik news service.Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the Armenian capital, Yerevan, after Pashinyan’s announcement. Demonstrators broke into the parliament and others gathered outside the govenrment building and the prime minister’s house, according to Interfax.The two sides have been fighting for more than six weeks over the enclave and surrounding regions, which are internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but were taken by Armenia in a bloody war in the early 1990s. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the latest round of fighting, according to Russian officials.Azerbaijani AdvanceAliyev, backed by Turkey, vowed to retake the territory and on Sunday announced that his forces had retaken the key city of Shusha, known as Shushi in Armenian, a strategic highland above Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital. The government there, backed by Armenia, had warned that the loss of Shushi would lead to the fall of the entire region.“We have won this victory on the battlefield, not at the negotiating table,” Aliyev said in a televised speech on Sunday. “I have said many times that, despite all the statements, there are military solutions to this conflict.”Late Monday, Baku apologized for shooting down a Russian military helicopter over Armenia, killing two. Russia’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the speedy apology and called for a full investigation. Moscow has a military base in Armenia and the two countries have a mutual-defense pact, but Russia also has close relations with Azerbaijan.Prior to the fighting that erupted Sept. 27, Armenian forces controlled Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan as a buffer zone. A Russia-brokered truce in 1994 halted a war that had killed 30,000 and displaced 1 million amid the collapse of the Soviet Union. International mediators led by France, Russia and the U.S. have tried without success for nearly three decades to negotiate a peace deal.Azerbaijan says it’s fighting to restore control over its internationally recognized territory. Armenia says it’s defending Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination after its Armenian majority voted for independence.Three attempts by Russia, France and the U.S. since Oct. 10 to restore a cease-fire failed to take hold. In contrast to previous outbreaks of fighting, Russia has struggled to rein in the warring sides in its former Soviet backyard, partly because of active support given to Aliyev’s military campaign from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.;A
LU;Protesters draw attention to heavy fighting in Caucasus;"Armenians and their sympathisers gathered in Luxembourg City on Tuesday to protest against the war in the disputed Caucasus mountain region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has flared up in the past weeks.About 70 people met in the Place d'Armes, speaking out against Turkey's role in the fighting over the enclave inside Azerbaijan, which is inhabited by Armenians, and which the two countries have been at loggerheads over for more than three decades.The latest hostilities, the worst since Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Baku, have also heightened tensions between Russia and Turkey, as Istanbul openly supports Azerbaijan's attempt to reclaim its territory.Over the weekend, Armenian forces bombarded Azerbaijan's second city, Ganja, in retaliation for attacks on Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been hit by shelling for over a week. The two sides have accused each other of using cluster munition, which is banned by international treaties, and at least 240 people have so far been killed - although the actual death toll including civilians may be much higher.Last week France, Russia and the US, members of the Minsk group that has overseen peacemaking attempts since 1992, called for an immediate ceasefire. The Armenian government said it was willing to engage in talks, but Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani president, said Armenian forces had to withdraw before a dialogue could begin.Moscow and Ankara also back opposing sides in the civil wars in Libya and Syria. Russia has a military base in Armenia and a mutual defence pact with the country, though that does not cover the disputed territory.Both Moscow and Paris have accused Erdogan of sending mercenary fighters from Syria to Azerbaijan, but Baku has denied that any ""irregular forces"" are assisting its troops.French President Emmanuel Macron said his country had evidence that Syrian jihadists had travelled from the Turkish city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border, to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh.";E
LU;Azeris, Armenians plunge into war over land disputed for decades;"Azerbaijan and Armenian forces engaged in fierce clashes Sunday when a decades-long conflict over disputed land erupted into renewed war involving tanks, artillery and aircraft.Russia and international organizations including NATO, the European Union and the OSCE called on both sides to halt fighting over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey backed its ally Azerbaijan and said it was ready to offer assistance.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared martial law and ordered a general mobilization, after accusing Azerbaijan of ""pre-planned aggression."" Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, who also announced martial law, said in a state TV address that Armenian forces were occupying Azerbaijan’s territory and ""we'll put an end to this occupation.""Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has broken out repeatedly since Armenians took control of the territory and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Hundreds were killed in a five-day war in 2016 before Russia pressured both sides to resume a cease-fire that was first brokered in 1994. Clashes also erupted across Armenia and Azerbaijan’s international border in the Tavush and Tovuz regions in July.Despite decades of mediation by the US, France and Russia, no peace agreement has been signed. Armenia says the right of the internationally unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to self-determination should be respected, while Azerbaijan says its territorial integrity must be upheld.This time, Azerbaijan said it began a ""counterattack"" after accusing Armenians of firing on its military positions and civilian settlements near Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia said Azerbaijan started bombarding along the contact line separating the two forces and shelled civilians including in the region’s capital, Stepanakert.Russia, TurkeyThe confrontation has the potential to drag in larger powers. Russia has a mutual-defense pact with Armenia and a military base in the republic. Azerbaijan hosted large-scale joint military exercises with Turkish forces last month.Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed ""serious concern about the renewal of large-scale military conflict"" and called for a halt to fighting in a phone call with Pashinyan, according to a Kremlin statement.Armenia should ""seriously discuss"" recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence as a response to the renewed conflict, Pashinyan told lawmakers in parliament.While it provides military and financial support to Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia has held back from recognising the territory's independence through decades of talks led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to try to negotiate a settlement of the conflict.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the fighting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement. Lavrov also spoke separately by phone with the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers, emphasizing the need for an immediate cease-fire, the ministry said.""Turkey stands by its Azeri brothers with all its means,"" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter after he spoke with Aliyev.NATO 'concerned'The OSCE called for a cease-fire and the resumption of negotiations. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation said it was ""deeply concerned"" by the fighting in a statement.Pope Francis also called on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the crisis ""not through the use of force and arms but through the means of dialogue and negotiation"" in an address from the Vatican Sunday.The Azeri army is using tanks, artillery, missile systems and aircraft against Armenian positions near the front line and deeper into Armenian-held territory, the Defense Ministry in Baku said in a website statement. As many as 12 Armenian anti-aircraft systems have been destroyed and one Azeri helicopter was shot down, it said.Armenian forces hit four Azeri helicopters, 10 tanks and about 15 drones, Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said.At least 16 Armenian serviceman have died and more than 100 were wounded in the fighting, Nagorno-Karabakh Deputy Defense Minister Artur Sargsyan said in a livestream broadcast.The conflict comes after tensions between the two sides rose sharply last week, when Aliyev alleged that Armenia was massing forces near Nagorno-Karabakh for a new war. Armenia dismissed the claim as groundless and accused Aliyev of preparing for a war.The fighting ""is a war against our independence, freedom and dignity,"" Pashinyan said in a televised address to the nation. ""The Armenian people are ready for that war.""Azeri forces are ""fighting on our soil, and have no claim to anyone's land,” Aliyev said in his speech. ""We'll win because our cause is just.""";N
LU;Azerbaijan hoists flag in Lachin, third district surrendered by Armenia;"Azerbaijani soldiers raised their flag for the first time in almost 30 years on Tuesday in Lachin, the last of three districts surrendered by Armenia under the ceasefire that ended six weeks of fighting in Nagorno Karabakh.Shortly after midnight, an Azerbaijani military column entered the district, which had been under the control of Armenian forces since a war in the 1990s that left tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.AFP journalists then saw a group of ten soldiers participate in a ceremony in the courtyard of an official building in the city, above which was hoisted the Azerbaijani flag.The district of Lachin, like that of Aghdam surrendered on November 20 and that of Kalbajar surrendered on November 25, formed a buffer zone surrounding the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorny Karabakh, with a majority Armenian.Four other districts with the same function had already been taken over by Baku during the six weeks of deadly fighting that erupted in the fall. All of them had escaped Azerbaijani control since the end of the war in 1994.Running along the eastern border of Armenia, from north to south to Iran, the Lachin district is best known for the corridor of the same name, now controlled by Russian peacekeepers, and became the only road linking Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia.- ""New reality"" -The residents hadn't waited to leave the area, destroying and boning their homes. However, some have chosen to stay, like Levon Gevorguian, owner of a grocery store-bar in the main square of Latchin.""I've been here for 22 years, I started from scratch, I built everything,"" says the 48-year-old. ""I hope I can continue,"" he adds.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev greeted him on Tuesday as a ""new reality"", in a televised address to the nation. ""We have driven the enemy from our lands. We have restored territorial integrity. We have ended the occupation,"" he said.According to Mr. Aliyev, around 50,000 Azerbaijanis lived in Lachin district before the war of the 1990s and they will return there ""in the near future"".In Baku, the capital, the streets were overrun with residents waving the national flag to celebrate Latchin's handover, according to an AFP journalist.In Yerevan, the Armenian capital, dozens of people protested against such Armenian concessions, briefly blocking streets, while others marched demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and calling him a ""traitor"".- ""Ambiguous"" status quo -For Olessia Vartanian, analyst for the International Crisis Group, the surrender of the latter district is proof that the ceasefire agreement ""works"". But the new status quo is ""unclear,"" she warns.""The agreement obtained by Moscow is very precise as regards the surrender of the territories, but it is ambiguous on a number of aspects such as the mandate of the Russian peace forces and the organization of the life of the local population, Armenians and Azerbaijanis alike, ”she told AFP.In the meantime, many residents of Nagorny Karabakh who had fled the recent fighting have started to resettle in the breakaway region. On Tuesday, the Russian military said it had so far assisted in the return of more than 26,000 people.The ceasefire of November 9, signed when the military situation was catastrophic for Armenia, enshrines the victory of Azerbaijan and grants it important territorial gains.It nevertheless allows the survival of Nagorno Karabakh, diminished, and sees the deployment of 2,000 Russian peacekeepers.Signed under Russian patronage, the cease-fire recalled the determining role of Moscow in its Caucasian precinct but also showed the growing influence of Turkey, support of Baku.Turkey also announced on Tuesday an agreement with Russia on the establishment of a joint observation center whose mission will be to monitor the ceasefire in Nagorny Karabakh.Conversely, the Western countries seem to be losing ground and neither France nor the United States, mediators as members of the ""Minsk group"" charged in the 1990s with finding a lasting solution to the crisis. 'have obtained convincing results.";A
LU;Fighting erupts between Azeris, Armenians over disputed land;"Fierce fighting involving tanks, aircraft and artillery broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenian forces Sunday in the latest flare-up of a decades-long conflict over disputed land.Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said it launched a ""counterattack"" after accusing Armenians of firing on its military positions and on civilian settlements near the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia said Azerbaijan started bombarding along the contact line separating the two forces and shelled civilians including in the region's capital, Stepanakert.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared martial law and ordered a general mobilisation, after accusing Azerbaijan of ""pre-planned aggression."" Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said in a state TV address that: ""We'll win as our cause is just.""Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has broken out repeatedly since Armenians took control of the territory and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Hundreds were killed in a five-day war in 2016 before Russia pressured both sides to resume a cease-fire that was first brokered in 1994. Despite decades of mediation by the US, France and Russia, no peace agreement has been signed.Russia called on both sides to halt fighting immediately and to return to negotiations to ease tensions, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement.Turkey will stand by its ally Azerbaijan ""with all our means until the end,"" Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said in a statement, without elaborating.Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov about the conflict, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Ankara.The Azeri army is using tanks, artillery, missile systems and aircraft against Armenian positions near the front line and deeper into Armenian-held territory, the Defence Ministry in Baku said in a website statement. As many as 12 Armenian anti-aircraft systems have been destroyed and one Azeri helicopter was shot down, it said.Armenian forces hit two Azeri helicopters, three tanks and 14 drones, Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said.Civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh have been urged to go into shelters after Azerbaijan shelled Stepanakert, according to Vahram Poghosyan, presidential spokesman in the unrecognized republic. ""Our response will be proportional, and full responsibility is on the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan,"" he said.About 10 Armenian serviceman have been killed in the fighting, said Samvel Babayan, secretary of the Nagorno-Karabakh Security Council, according to Radio Liberty.The conflict comes after tensions between the two sides rose sharply last week, when Aliyev alleged that Armenia was massing forces near Nagorno-Karabakh for a new war. Armenia dismissed the claim as groundless and accused Aliyev of preparing for a war.As the fighting raged, Facebook and other social media appeared blocked in Azerbaijan and internet access was slow in some areas.""Armenia is occupying our territory,"" Aliyev said in his speech. “We'll put an end to this occupation.""";A
LV;Rinkēvičs hopes Armenia and Azerbaijan will return to negotiations;"“The international community – all ministries and heads of countries – have called for a return to a dialogue situation. This is the sharpest conflict since the 90s. It is clear that there is currently an active emotional phase in which it is difficult to determine who has invested more in the conflict and who less,” said Rinkēvičs.Therefore, there are calls to de-escalate the situation and to sit down for negotiation. Rinkēvičs pointed out that such conflicts are referred to as “frozen”. “There is a ceasefire, an outbreak, then soldiers and civilians fall. Then we all call on them again, condemn, but structurally, be it Karabakh or Transnistria, there is nothing going on,” the Minister said.Rinkēvičs stressed that there are big players who want to keep the current situation. ""While there is peace, other countries' problems are in the news. Unfortunately, it is much easier to create these conflicts than to resolve them,” said the Minister.The Latvian Foreign Minister said that Russia played a rather serious role in the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. “It is disappointing that Russia supplies weapons to both countries. We do not see [Russia's] desire to address the situation,” said Rinkēvičs.";N
LV;Rīga Conference opens with warnings about Russia;"Both men underlined that the longstanding threat from Russia remains, even in the era of COVID-19 and numerous other challenges.  ""Russia remains a great big problem,"" Kariņš said. ""What we are seeing with Russia is they are showing no inclination to change,"" citing Ukraine, Georgia and the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh as examples of Russian involvement in other countries' affairs.""They are not showing any indication of wanting to change,"" Kariņš repeated, adding that with regard to Belarus ""the Russian leadership is not siding with the people and demanding free and fair elections"".""For the Belarusian people I can say we stand with them. We insist on free and fair elections in out neighboring country,"" Kariņš said.""How to deal with that is not on a bilateral basis but on a multilateral basis... the EU, the US and NATO are a strong and formidable partnership that can stand up to Russia, can stand up to China, can stand up to injustice anywhere in the world,"" Kariņš said.Similarly, along with some familiar words about NATO being ""the most successful military alliance in history"" Stoltenberg noted a ""disturbing pattern of behavior"" from Russia while admitting that ""Russia remains our biggest neighbour. It is not going anywhere. That is why we maintain dialogue with Russia.""";N
LV;Armenian community in Rīga holds picket in protest against war;On Tuesday, September 29, around a hundred Armenian community representatives and their friends gathered in Bastejkalns to walk slowly to the Azerbaijani embassy. “All the Armenians who have come here want no warfare. We want the 21st century not to have a situation that is now in the world - it is not normal. We stand here peacefully and demand that it be completed more quickly,” Nora Kosjana said.“We are here to call all parties involved to an immediate cessation of hostilities, to an end to violence. We express such confidence that humanitarian values will prevail and people will come to their senses and stop killing each other's children,” Narine Abagjana-Šica said.The community of Azerbaijanis in Latvia is also following developments in Nagorno-Karabakh with the same unwavering interest. Amils Salimovs, who heads the diaspora youth society, said that the two communities live here in a friendly way.“Of course, here both they and we are minorities. We are not disturbing each other, we have nothing to fight for here, unfortunately there is an unresolved problem,” Salimovs said.Amils said: “It can only be solved when the occupied territory is be returned to the Azerbaijani. This is the only way that all of this can be solved. For 30 years, Azerbaijan has been trying to somehow negotiate the return of their occupied territories, but so far it has yet to succeed.”Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics (“New Unity”) also called for an immediate cessation of warfare on Monday. ;E
MK;Missile kills 12 in Azerbaijan city, escalating Karabakh conflict;"A missile strike levelled a row of homes in Azerbaijan's city of Ganja on Saturday, killing 12 and injuring more than 40 people in their sleep in a sharp escalation of the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.The attack, which saw a second missile strike another part of Ganja and a third reach the nearby strategic city of Mingecevir, came hours after Azerbaijani forces shelled the ethnic Armenian separatist region's capital Stepanakert.The seeming tit-for-tat attacks further undermine international efforts to calm a resurgence of fighting between Christian Armenians and Muslim Azerbaijanis before it draws in regional powers Russia and Turkey.An AFP team in Ganja saw rows of houses turned to rubble by the strike, which shattered the walls and ripped the roofs off buildings in the surrounding streets.People ran outside in shock and tears, stumbling through dark muddy alleys in their slippers, some wearing bathroom robes and pyjamas.Second attackThe attack came only six days after a missile struck another residential part of the city of more than 300,000 people, killing 10 civilians and leaving many on edge.At the scene of the latest strike, exploding shells rumbled in the distance as rescuers and red helmets used sniffer dogs to search for signs on life.""We were sleeping. The kids were watching TV,"" Rubaba Zhafarova, 65, said in front of her destroyed home.""All the houses around here are destroyed. Many people are under the rubble. Some are dead, some are wounded.""Hikmat Hajiyev, an assistant to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, tweeted that according to ""initial information, more than 20 houses were destroyed"" on Saturday.Nagorno-Karabakh's military said Azerbaijani forces had stepped up their attacks on Friday across the front, shelling Stepanakert and the nearby town of Susi.The separatists ""carried out equivalent operations to stop adversary fire,"" they said in a statement released by the Armenian government.Passports, keys, braceletsRescuers periodically called for silence so they could hear the sounds of survivors as the hours passed, pulling passports, keys, bracelets and items of clothing from the debris.They called in sniffer dogs and watered down the suffocating columns of dust with hoses from a fire truck.""One woman was missing her feet. Someone else was missing an arm at the elbow,"" said Elmir Shirinzaday, 26, in a visible state of shock.Rescuers struggled to lift heavy boulders of rubble in search of signs of life, periodically taking breaks to try and calm distraught victims.""My wife was there, my wife was there,"" one man cried inconsolably while being walked toward an ambulance by a paramedic.At around the same time in the city of Mingecevir, an hour's drive north of Ganja, AFP heard the impact of a huge blast that shook buildings.Mingecevir is protected by a missile defence system because it is home to a strategic dam, and it was not immediately clear if the missile was destroyed in the air or had made impact.The defence ministry said Mingecevir had come ""under fire"", but provided no other immediate details.An Azerbaijani official said that another missile hit a separate, industrial district of Ganja at around the same time.There were no immediate details about that attack.Decades-long conflictThe decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict re-erupted on September 27 and has so far killed more than 700 people, including nearly 80 civilians.The mountainous western region of Azerbaijan has remained under separatist Armenian control since a 1994 ceasefire ended a brutal war that killed 30,000.Armenia, which backs Nagorno-Karabakh but does not recognise its independence, has admitted that Azerbaijani forces have made important gains along the front in the past week.An AFP team was taken by the Azerbaijani military on Friday to one settlement re-captured in the southern section of the conflict zone near the Iranian border.Azerbaijani officials said they last controlled the settlement of Jabrayil, which includes strategic heights overlooking a fertile valley, during the post-Soviet war.The current escalation is the deadliest and longest since that six-year conflict.The shelling of Stepanakert and the strikes on the two Azerbaijani cities followed a joint call from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday to ""end the bloodshed as soon as possible"".";A
MK;Clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia separatists leave at least 23 dead;"Arch foes Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sunday accused each other of initiating deadly clashes that claimed at least 23 lives over a decades-long territorial dispute and threatened to draw in regional powers Russia and Turkey.The worst clashes since 2016 have raised the spectre of a fresh war between long-standing rivals Azerbaijan and Armenia which have been locked for decades in a territorial dispute over the Armenia-backed breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh.Sixteen Armenian separatist fighters were killed and more than 100 wounded in fighting, rebel officials said.Both sides also reported casualties including at least one Armenian woman and child. Baku said that an Azerbaijani family of five were killed in shelling launched by Armenian separatists.A major confrontation between Muslim Azerbaijan and majority Christian Armenia threatened to embroil regional players Moscow and Ankara and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on global powers to prevent Turkey from getting involved in the conflict.""We are on the brink of a full-scale war in the South Caucasus,"" Pashinyan warned.Azerbaijan's ""authoritarian regime has once again declared war on the Armenian people"", he added.France, Germany and the EU swiftly urged an ""immediate ceasefire,"" while Pope Francis prayed for peace.Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the military flareup with Pashinyan and called for ""an end to hostilities"".""The Russian side expressed serious concern over the resumption of large-scale clashes,"" the Kremlin said.But Azerbaijan's ally Turkey blamed Yerevan for the flare-up and promised Baku its ""full support"".""The Turkish people will support our Azerbaijani brothers with all our means as always,"" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted.Azerbaijan accused Armenian forces of violating a ceasefire, saying it had launched a counter-offensive to ""ensure the safety of the population"", using tanks, artillery missiles, combat aviation and drones.Azerbaijan imposed martial law and a curfew in large cities and said it had captured from Armenian rebels a strategic mountain that helps control transport communications between Yerevan and the Armenian-held enclave.- 'Sacred homeland' -In a televised address to the nation earlier Sunday, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev vowed victory over Armenian forces.""Our cause is just and we will win,"" he said, echoing a famous quote from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's address at the outbreak of World War II in Russia.""Karabakh is Azerbaijan,"" he said. Both Armenia and Karabakh declared martial law and military mobilisation.""Get ready to defend our sacred homeland,"" Pashinyan said on Facebook.Armenia said that Azerbaijan attacked civilian settlements in Nagorny Karabakh including the main city Stepanakert.Pashinyan's wife, Anna Hakobyan, said that she had travelled to a hospital in Stepanakert to be with her Karabakh ""brothers and sisters"".Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said there were reports of dead and wounded. ""Extensive damage has been inflicted on many homes and civilian infrastructure,"" it said.Karabakh's rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan pointed to ""civilian casualties,"" while Armenia said a woman and child were killed.- 'War is resuming' - Ethnic Armenian separatists seized the Nagorny Karabakh region from Baku in a 1990s war that claimed 30,000 lives.Talks to resolve one of the worst conflicts to emerge from the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union have been largely stalled since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.France, Russia and the United States have mediated peace efforts as the ""Minsk Group"" but the last big push for a peace deal collapsed in 2010.Pope Francis told crowds on Saint Peter's Square he was praying for peace and called for ""concrete gestures of good will and fraternity"" from the warring sides.Political observers said global powers should intensify talks to stop the conflict.""We are a step away from a large-scale war,"" Olesya Vartanyan of the International Crisis Group told AFP.""One of the main reasons for the current escalation is a lack of any proactive international mediation between the sides for weeks,"" she added.""War is resuming. Time for Russia, France and US, individually and jointly, to stop it,"" tweeted Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Centre.- 'Turkish mercenaries' - Karabakh separatist leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, accused Ankara of sending mercenaries to Azerbaijan.On Sunday morning, Azerbaijan started ""active bombing"" along Karabakh's frontline including civilian targets and in Stepanakert, Karabakh's presidency said.The rebel defence ministry said its troops shot down four Azerbaijani helicopters and 15 drones, while Baku denied the claim. In July, heavy clashes along the two countries' shared border -- hundreds of kilometres from Karabakh -- claimed the lives of at least 17 soldiers from both sides.Raising the stakes, Azerbaijan at the time threatened to strike Armenia's atomic power station if Yerevan attacked strategic facilities.During the worst recent clashes in April 2016, around 110 people were killed.";N
MK;Azerbaijan vows retaliation for deadly strike on civilians;"Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev vowed on Saturday to take revenge on Armenia after a missile strike killed 12 sleeping people in the city of Ganja, a dramatic escalation in the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.The early hours attack, which also saw a strike on the nearby strategic city of Mingecevir, came hours after Azerbaijani forces shelled Stepanakert, the capital of the ethnic Armenian separatist region.The explosions in Ganja levelled a row of houses and left at least 40 people injured in an attack Aliyev described as ""a war crime"". He said his army would ""take revenge on the battlefield"" and promised to capture Karabakh by driving out Armenian forces ""like dogs"".'Our pain is deep'As the sun rose over the devastation in Ganja, Mayil Shakhnazarov, 36, said it was impossible to identify some of those killed.""What can we say? Our pain is deep. Really deep,"" he told AFP.The seeming tit-fot-tat attacks further undermine international efforts to calm a resurgence of fighting between Christian Armenians and Muslim Azerbaijanis and avoid drawing regional powers Russia and Turkey into a conflict that has killed hundreds of people.An AFP team in Ganja saw rows of houses in Ganja turned to rubble by the strike, which shattered walls and ripped roofs off buildings in the surrounding streets.People ran outside in shock and tears, stumbling through dark muddy alleys in their slippers, some wearing bathroom robes and pyjamas.'Everything shattered' The EU condemned the strike on Ganja and said a ceasefire agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow last week ""must be fully respected without delay"".""The European Union deplores the strikes on the Azerbaijani city of Ganja during the night of 16-17 October resulting in civilian loss of life and serious injury,' said a spokesperson for EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell""All targeting of civilians and civilian installations by either party must stop.""The attack came six days after a missile struck another residential part of the city of more than 300,000 people, killing 10 civilians and leaving many on edge.At the scene of the latest strike, Durdana Mammadova, 69, was standing on the street at daybreak because her house was destroyed. ""We were sleeping and suddenly we heard the blast. The door, glass, everything shattered over us,"" she said.""There was smoke and dust -– we couldn't even breath."" Hikmat Hajiyev, an assistant to Aliyev, tweeted that according to initial information, more than 20 houses were destroyed in Ganja.Nagorno-Karabakh's military said Azerbaijani forces had stepped up their attacks on Friday across the front, shelling Stepanakert and a nearby town.On Saturday, Karabakh separatist leader Arayik Harutyunyan said ""intensive fighting"" continued ""along the entire line of defence"".Complicit in 'savagery'Turkey, a staunch ally of Azerbaijan widely accused of supplying mercenaries to bolster Baku's forces, said the strikes were a war crime and called on the international community to denounce them.""Armenia continues to commit war crimes and massacre civilians. To remain silent in the face of this savagery is to be complicit in these crimes,"" Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter.The Armenian defence ministry tweeted following the attack a list of what it described as ""legitimate targets"" in Ganja, including an ammunition factory.At around the same time in the city of Mingecevir, an hour's drive north of Ganja, AFP heard the impact of a huge blast that shook buildings.Mingecevir is protected by a missile defence system because it is home to a strategic dam.The defence ministry said Mingecevir had come ""under fire"", but provided no other immediate details.An Azerbaijani official said another missile hit a separate industrial district of Ganja at around the same time.Hundreds killedThe long-simmering conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted again on September 27 and has so far killed more than 700 people, including nearly 80 civilians.The mountainous western region of Azerbaijan has remained under separatist Armenian control since a 1994 ceasefire ended a brutal war that killed 30,000.Armenia, which backs Nagorno-Karabakh but does not recognise its independence, has admitted that Azerbaijani forces have made important gains along the front in the past week.An AFP team was taken by the Azerbaijani military on Friday to one settlement re-captured in the southern section of the conflict zone near the Iranian border.Azerbaijani officials said they last controlled the settlement of Jabrayil, which includes strategic heights overlooking a fertile valley, during the post-Soviet war.";A
MK;Heavy shelling and civilian casualties dash hopes for Karabakh ceasefire;"Hopes that a Russian-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan might hold were further dashed Sunday, with both sides accusing the other of intense shelling on civilian areas and escalating two weeks of fierce clashes.Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said that overnight shelling by Armenian forces on the country's second largest city, Ganja, had left seven people dead and 33 wounded including children, less than 24 hours after the halt to fighting was supposed to take effect.Rescuers in red helmets dug through piles of debris with their bare hands in search of signs of survivors, an AFP journalist in the city reported.They retrieved one nearly naked body and gingerly put it in a white bag to be taken away in an ambulance while several horrified residents watched on and wept.One witness said they were woken by a huge blast that levelled an entire square block of one- and two-floor houses in the early hours of the morning, leaving nine apartments destroyed.""Everything I've worked for my entire life has been destroyed,"" said resident Zagit Aliyev, 68.The agreement to pause hostilities in order to exchange prisoners and the bodies of people killed after two weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region was approved by Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in marathon Russia-brokered talks in Moscow.- 'An absolute lie' -The truce officially entered into force at noon on Saturday but both sides almost immediately accused each other of violations.On Sunday, the defence ministry in the breakaway region insisted Armenian forces were respecting the humanitarian ceasefire and in turn accused Azerbaijan of shelling civilian-populated areas. Claims that Armenian forces were responsible for shelling Ganja were ""an absolute lie,"" it added.The leader of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Arayik Harutyunyan, described the situation as ""calmer"" on Sunday, but warned that the truce was precarious.An AFP journalist in the administrative capital of Stepanakert, which has been subjected to heavy bombings since the fighting erupted and is pockmarked with deep craters and unexploded ordnance, reported hearing loud explosions throughout the night.Vahram Poghosyan, a spokesman for Karabakh's leader, said the overnight shelling on Stepanakert was ""a disrespect of the agreements reached in Moscow,"" and called on the international community to recognise the province's independence as a way to end the fighting.New fighting broke out late last month, stemming from a long-simmering disagreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh.The disputed territory is an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, home to about 150,000 people, which broke from Azerbaijan's control in a war in the 1990s that killed some 30,000 people. Its separatist government is strongly backed by Armenia, which like Azerbaijan gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. - A 'temporary' ceasefire -The most recent bout of fighting has been the heaviest since the 1990s war, with more than 450 people reported dead, thousands forced to flee their homes and fears the fighting could escalate into a devastating all-out conflict.The return of fighting has stoked fears of a full-blown war embroiling Turkey, which strongly backs Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a military treaty with Armenia.Armenia and world leaders including Russian leader Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron have denounced the deployment of pro-Turkish fighters from Syria and Libya to bolster Azerbaijan's army.France, Russia and the US -- known as the ""Minsk Group"" -- have for decades sought a lasting solution to the Karabakh conflict, but have failed to stop sporadic outbreaks of fighting, and Baku with Turkey's backing appears set on continuing with its military intervention.A senior Azerbaijani official said Saturday the truce was only meant to be ""temporary,"" and said Baku had ""no intention to backtrack"" on its effort to retake control of Karabakh.";N
MK;Armenians bid ‘painful’ farewell to monastery ceded in peace deal;Mourners drift through the monastery nestled in a deep mountain gorge by the dozens with loss, disbelief and sometimes tears marking their faces.The Dadivank church complex in the rugged and elevated Kalbajar region is due to be returned to Azerbaijan on Sunday by Armenian separatists who suffered a humiliating defeat after more than six weeks of intense fighting over the disputed province of Nagorno-Karabakh.The combat ended earlier this week after Armenia agreed to cede swathes of territory it had held since a war in the 1990s as part of a Russian-brokered peace deal.With its high mountain peaks, steep and forested slopes, the Kalbajar district home to the Dadivank church complex beloved by Armenians is emptying before it is returned to Azerbaijan’s control.Believed to be founded around the 12th century, Dadivank has outlived centuries of unrest and remains a majestic complex of stone and a pride of the Armenian Apostolic Church. “It’s very hard, very painful. We have come to say goodbye,” a 40-year-old visitor told AFP, hiding tears behind large sunglasses.The clusters of people who have come to see the hillside monastery for possibly the last time wander in contemplation through the central stone clearing and between the basilica and the chapel.Several wilting roses lie on the tomb of Saint Dadi who is recorded as having founded the monastery.A small kiosk inside the church is already packing up unsold candles and carrying out final transactions.The scenes at the monastery, including the rush of cars packing the small road to its base, resemble a flood of tourists on vacation except for the palpable sense of sadness and bewilderment. ‘I can’t leave’“I can’t believe this is the last time I’ll be here,” said Miasnik Simonyan, 28, from Vardenis in northern Armenia.“This is the land of our grandparents. These stones are 800 years old,” he said, gesturing to two intricately engraved traditional Armenian crosses. Inna Tumanyan, who just graduated from university in the Armenian capital Yerevan, had hoped for months to be baptised at the monastery. “But there was corona, then the war,” she told AFP. “When I heard we were going to have to give up Dadivank, I called the priest. He told me to come,” Tumanyan said.She is among 12 young women to be hastily baptised on Friday in the small Holy Mother of God church. Standing beneath two 13th century frescoes Father Hovhannes speaks bitterly of Azerbaijan, a majority-Muslim country and longstanding rival of Armenia, which he said “does not have the same values as us”. On Wednesday, the Armenian government said it was “extremely concerned” about the fate of this unique heritage, despite assurances from Baku which promises to preserve all historical and spiritual places. “People have lost loved ones, their homes. They do not want to lose Dadivank,” Father Hovhannes, with a long grey bread and a silver crucifix around his neck, told AFP.“We must pray for the protection of our monastery,” he added, noting the authorities in Yerevan have yet to give instructions on how best safeguard the site and its artefacts.“This monastery belongs to us. I can’t leave,” he says. Asked whether he planned to organise the return of the precious carved crosses to Yerevan, he says: “who am I to remove stones that have been here for over 800 years.” ;E
MO;Moldovan top leadership holds meeting;In the end of the meeting, the head of state expressed concern about the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and urged both sides to ceasefire and peace. In the context, Igor Dodon reiterated that both Armenia and Azerbaijan were friends of Moldova and the country has good relations with the leadership of both states. For this reason, the president urged both ethnic communities from Moldova to keep calm and not ‘’bring’’ the concerned conflict in Moldova. ;N
MO;Moldova does not recognize so-called ''presidential and parliamentary elections'' in Nagorno-Karabakh region;The Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry (MAEIE) describes as illegal the holding of the so-called ‘’presidential and parliamentary elections’’ in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on 31 March 2020, taking into account that they run counter the fundamental norms and principles of the international law, laid down in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, the MAEIE press service has reported.     Moldova does not recognize these pseudo-elections as such, in the context of the process of negotiations under the OSCE’s aegis on the identification of a special status for the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which might lead to the peaceful settlement of the conflict in this region.   In the context, MAEIE reiterates Moldova’s willingness to further back the efforts of the international community, especially of the OSCE Minsk Group and its co-heads, for the peaceful political and comprehensive settlement of the conflict around the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which will be able to efficiently contribute to the strengthening of peace and security in South Caucasus.;A
MO;Press specifications on latest developments in conflict-stricken zone in Nagoro-Karabakh;The Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry (MAEIE) keeps an eye with concern on the resumption of hostilities on the contact line of the conflict from Nagorno-Karabakh, the MAEIE press service has reported.    We call on the de-tensioning of the situation, including through the turning to good account of the formats of dialogue established.  The peace and security in the region are of vital importance for the development and prosperity of both countries and nations – traditional partners of Moldova.  ;N
MO;Moldovan foreign affairs ministry issuues statement on ceasefire agreements in Nagorno-Karabakh;The Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry’s (MAEIE) public diplomacy, strategic communication and media interaction service has submitted to the MOLDPRES Agency a Statement on the ceasefire agreements in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Statement reads:   „ The Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry of Moldova welcomes the ceasefire agreements reached on Nagorno-Karabakh.  The Statement signed in this respect by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia represents an important step towards the establishment of peace in the region.   The ministry reiterates the firm support by Moldova of the process of identification, based on the principles and norms of international law, of a peaceful lasting solution in the region.’’  ;N
MT;Missile kills 12 in Azerbaijan city, escalating Karabakh conflict;"A missile strike levelled a row of homes in Azerbaijan's city of Ganja on Saturday, killing 12 and injuring more than 40 people in their sleep in a sharp escalation of the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.The attack, which saw a second missile strike another part of Ganja and a third reach the nearby strategic city of Mingecevir, came hours after Azerbaijani forces shelled the ethnic Armenian separatist region's capital Stepanakert.The seeming tit-for-tat attacks further undermine international efforts to calm a resurgence of fighting between Christian Armenians and Muslim Azerbaijanis before it draws in regional powers Russia and Turkey.An AFP team in Ganja saw rows of houses turned to rubble by the strike, which shattered the walls and ripped the roofs off buildings in the surrounding streets.People ran outside in shock and tears, stumbling through dark muddy alleys in their slippers, some wearing bathroom robes and pyjamas.Second attackThe attack came only six days after a missile struck another residential part of the city of more than 300,000 people, killing 10 civilians and leaving many on edge.At the scene of the latest strike, exploding shells rumbled in the distance as rescuers and red helmets used sniffer dogs to search for signs on life.""We were sleeping. The kids were watching TV,"" Rubaba Zhafarova, 65, said in front of her destroyed home.""All the houses around here are destroyed. Many people are under the rubble. Some are dead, some are wounded.""Hikmat Hajiyev, an assistant to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, tweeted that according to ""initial information, more than 20 houses were destroyed"" on Saturday.Nagorno-Karabakh's military said Azerbaijani forces had stepped up their attacks on Friday across the front, shelling Stepanakert and the nearby town of Susi.The separatists ""carried out equivalent operations to stop adversary fire,"" they said in a statement released by the Armenian government.Passports, keys, braceletsRescuers periodically called for silence so they could hear the sounds of survivors as the hours passed, pulling passports, keys, bracelets and items of clothing from the debris.They called in sniffer dogs and watered down the suffocating columns of dust with hoses from a fire truck.""One woman was missing her feet. Someone else was missing an arm at the elbow,"" said Elmir Shirinzaday, 26, in a visible state of shock.Rescuers struggled to lift heavy boulders of rubble in search of signs of life, periodically taking breaks to try and calm distraught victims.""My wife was there, my wife was there,"" one man cried inconsolably while being walked toward an ambulance by a paramedic.At around the same time in the city of Mingecevir, an hour's drive north of Ganja, AFP heard the impact of a huge blast that shook buildings.Mingecevir is protected by a missile defence system because it is home to a strategic dam, and it was not immediately clear if the missile was destroyed in the air or had made impact.The defence ministry said Mingecevir had come ""under fire"", but provided no other immediate details.An Azerbaijani official said that another missile hit a separate, industrial district of Ganja at around the same time.There were no immediate details about that attack.Decades-long conflictThe decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict re-erupted on September 27 and has so far killed more than 700 people, including nearly 80 civilians.The mountainous western region of Azerbaijan has remained under separatist Armenian control since a 1994 ceasefire ended a brutal war that killed 30,000.Armenia, which backs Nagorno-Karabakh but does not recognise its independence, has admitted that Azerbaijani forces have made important gains along the front in the past week.An AFP team was taken by the Azerbaijani military on Friday to one settlement re-captured in the southern section of the conflict zone near the Iranian border.Azerbaijani officials said they last controlled the settlement of Jabrayil, which includes strategic heights overlooking a fertile valley, during the post-Soviet war.The current escalation is the deadliest and longest since that six-year conflict.The shelling of Stepanakert and the strikes on the two Azerbaijani cities followed a joint call from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday to ""end the bloodshed as soon as possible"".";A
MT;Humanitarian Crisis Feared In Nagorno-Karabak;Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to accuse each other of violating a ceasefire agreed three days ago to quell fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, drawing warnings from international groups of a humanitarian crisis.The Russia-brokered truce is buckling despite mounting calls from world powers to halt the fighting, with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo among those urging greater commitment to the ceasefire terms.Turkey and Armenia exchanged recriminations, each blaming the other for exacerbating the crisis around Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but governed and populated by ethnic Armenians.Azerbaijan accused Armenia of “grossly violating the humanitarian truce”, which was agreed on Saturday to allow the sides to swap prisoners and bodies of those killed.Defence Ministry spokesman Vagif Dargiahly said Armenia was shelling the Azeri territories of Goranboy and Aghdam, as well as Terter. Azeri forces were not violating the truce, he added.Armenian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan denied the accusation. She said Azerbaijan had resumed military operations “supported by active artillery fire in the southern, northern, northeastern and eastern directions”.The fighting, which erupted on Sept. 27, is the worst since a 1991-94 war over Nagorno-Karabakh that killed about 30,000 people. It is being closely watched abroad because of fears Russia and Turkey could get sucked in. Russia has a defence pact with Armenia, while Turkey is allied with Azerbaijan.“CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES”Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Turkey of muscling its way into the South Caucasus region to further what he called its expansionist ambitions. Turkey denies this.“The problem is that Armenians in the South Caucasus are the last remaining obstacle on its path to implement that expansionist policy,” Pashinyan told Reuters.The “Minsk Group” – a committee set up by the OSCE security watchdog to help mediate in Nagorno-Karabakh – called on the Armenian and Azeri leaders to implement the ceasefire to prevent “catastrophic consequences for the region”.The 11-member group is led by the United States, Russia and France. Turkey is also a member but not involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh talks, though it has said it wants to join them.Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, told reporters that while ceasefire demands were “reasonable”, the international community should ask Armenia to withdraw from Azeri territory.“Sadly no such call is being made,” he said.DEAD AND WOUNDEDThe death toll continues to rise. Nagorno-Karabakh officials said 532 servicemen had been killed so far, up 7 from Monday.Azerbaijan has reported 42 Azeri civilian deaths and 206 wounded since Sept. 27. It has not disclosed military casualties.Martin Schuepp, Eurasia regional director for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said his organisation was trying to facilitate handovers of detainees or dead bodies, but the security situation hindered the efforts.With tens of thousands of people potentially needing help in coming months, the ICRC is appealing for another 9.2 million Swiss francs ($10.10 million) to fund humanitarian efforts.The conflict is also worsening the spread of COVID-19, World Health Organisation spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told a United Nations briefing in Geneva. New cases doubled over the past two weeks in Armenia and rose by 80% in Azerbaijan, he said.;A
MT;More Civilians Killed As Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Deepens;Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other of killing civilians by shelling cities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday, in an escalation of a month-long conflict over the mountain enclave that has defied three ceasefires.Azerbaijan said 21 people were killed when Armenian shells hit the town of Barda, northeast of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian-backed officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said Azeri shells had fallen on the enclave’s two largest cities, killing one person.Both sides denied each other’s claims.The worst fighting in the South Caucasus for nearly 30 years has raised fears of a wider war that could suck in Russia and Turkey, an ally of Azerbaijan. It also poses a threat to pipelines carrying oil and gas from Azerbaijan to world markets.The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had witnessed shelling in urban areas on both sides of the front line. It said a volunteer from the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society had been killed and two others injured in the shelling.“These latest exchanges signal that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict risks spiralling out of control,” Martin Schuepp, the ICRC’s Eurasia regional director, said in a statement. “Civilian lives are being lost at an alarming rate.”Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians. About 30,000 people were killed in a 1991-94 war in the region.The prosecutor general of Azerbaijan’s office said 21 people had been killed and 70 wounded in Barda.The Emergency and Rescue Service of ethnic Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh said shells had fallen on Stepanakert, the enclave’s largest city. It said a civilian had been killed and two wounded by shelling in another city, Shushi, 15 km (nine miles) to the south.Armenia’s defence ministry also said a maternity hospital in Stepanakert had been hit. There were no reports of casualties.Armenia’s defence ministry also confirmed on Wednesday that Azerbaijan had seized the strategic town of Gubadli between the enclave and the Iranian border, an apparent military gain that could make a diplomatic solution more difficult.Azerbaijan rejects any solution that would leave Armenians in control of the enclave, which it considers to be illegally occupied. Armenia regards the territory as part of its historic homeland and says the population there needs its protection.The Nagorno-Karabakh defence ministry has recorded 1,068 military deaths since fighting erupted on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan has not disclosed its military casualties. Russia has estimated as many as 5,000 deaths in total.The latest of three ceasefires was brokered in Washington on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump called the renewed fighting “disappointing” and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged both sides to pursue a diplomatic solution.The OSCE Minsk Group, formed to mediate the conflict and led by France, Russia and the United States, was due to meet the Azeri and Armenian foreign ministers in Geneva on Thursday but this has not been confirmed. Turkey has demanded a bigger role in the group.;N
MT;Malta Condemns Violence In Nagorno-Karabakh, Supports De-Escalation Attempts In Eastern Med;Malta has reiterated its support to de-escalation attempts in the Eastern Mediterranean. At a meeting for Foreign and European Affairs in Luxembourg, Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo urged all parties to respect international law, UNSC resolutions and UN ceasefire agreements, and to desist from any actions that will heighten further tensions and undermine attempts at restarting talks between all sides.Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo participated in the Foreign Affairs Ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg.Ministers had a long list on their agenda, including the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the political situation in Belarus, the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Russia and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, amongst others. Ministers also addressed the political challenges currently prevalent in different regions, notably the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and the political situation in Belarus. Despite the recent ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the weekend, the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh has intensified.Minister Bartolo strongly condemned the violence and urged both sides to accept an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. The Russian-brokered ceasefire, aimed at allowing the sides to swap prisoners and bodies of those killed, is buckling, dimming peace prospects after deadly clashes broke out on Sept. 27..Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said Armenian forces were shelling the Azeri territories of Goranboy and Aghdam, as well as Terter, and “grossly violating the humanitarian truce”.“Azeri armed forces are not violating the humanitarian ceasefire,” defence ministry spokesman Vagif Dargiahly said.The Foreign Affairs Ministers adopted conclusions on Belarus and reiterated that the elections held in Belarus were neither free nor fair, and that Alexander Lukashenko lacks democratic legitimacy.The Council called for an end to violence and agreed to scale down bilateral cooperation with Belorussian authorities while pledging support for the Belorussian people and civil society. The Foreign Affairs Council tasked the Council’s Working Group Relex to continue working on the Franco-German initiative regarding the poisoning of Alexander Navalny. In the margins of the meeting, Minister Evarist Bartolo also held bilateral meetings with Foreign Minister of Ireland Simon Coveney and with Foreign Minister of Austria Alexander Schallenberg.;N
MT;Armenia Declares No-Fly Zone In Armenia And Nagorno-Karabakh;The Armenian defence ministry declared a no-fly zone in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, except for military aircraft, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.Thousands of protesters on Wednesday gathered in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan step down over a ceasefire that secured territorial advances for Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, the subject of six weeks of fighting.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday diplomats from France and the United States were expected in Moscow soon to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.Russia has brokered a ceasefire that secured territorial advances for Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Azeri troops have been battling ethnic Armenian forces over the past six weeks.The accord, which also envisages the stationing of Russian peacekeeping troops in Nagorno-Karabakh has triggered protests in Armenia for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.Moscow co-chairs an international group overseeing the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with Washington and Paris, but the latter were not involved in the ceasefire deal, which was signed between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.Turkey, which has backed Azerbaijan over the conflict, signed a protocol with Russia on Wednesday to establish a joint centre to coordinate efforts to monitor the peace deal, agreed after three previous ceasefire attempts quickly broke down.The details of the monitoring have yet to be worked out and Turkish and Russian officials are due to meet in Ankara on Friday to discuss them.;E
NL;Armenia will have more time to withdraw troops from the northwest of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agreed to a later deadline on Sunday, according to an adviser to the president.;"According to a peace agreement reached earlier this month, the Armenians had until Sunday to leave the Kalbajar region, which had been captured by Azerbaijan in the war that flared up in the disputed region at the end of September. The Armenians are now given ten days longer (until 25 November) to surrender the area to Azerbaijan.Armenia argued that it needed more time, because there is only one way through which the withdrawal can take place. Troops are now allowed to stay in Kalbajar longer and Armenian residents of the area will also be given more time to pack their belongings. Residents set fire to homes before fleeing to Armenia.According to the peace agreement, Azerbaijan is allowed to keep the conquered territories. The Armenian opposition sees the deal as treason and even plotted a coup, the national security service NSS reported on Saturday. Part of that plan was the killing of Prime Minister Nikol Pasjinian.Last week, the Armenian authorities rounded up 10 prominent opposition figures suspected of organising ""illegal and violent unrest"" on a large scale.Other regions in Nagorno-Karabakh that conquered Azerbaijan have subsequent withdrawal deadlines. They remain unchanged.";N
NL;Fighting around the strategically important city of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh has flared up, local authorities say. Also in the capital of the area, Stepanakert, saturday- on Sunday night was very unsettled. Among other things, several air alarms could be heard.;Authorities said on Facebook that residential areas were randomly fired with rockets and that the destruction was devastating. However, there is not (yet) any evidence for that claim. There are no casualties.A spokeswoman for the Defense Ministry in the Armenian capital Yerevan said on Saturday that the situation around Shushi was particularly tense. According to her, the armed forces would have the situation under control and do everything they can to defeat the enemy. Azerbaijan is reportedly sending new troops to capture Shushi.The Defense Ministry in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, accused Armenia of shooting at Azerbaijani cities. On Saturday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again announced that more territory, including Shushi, had been captured in Nagorno-Karabakh. But conquest of that city is denied by Armenia.The heavy fighting for Nagorno-Karabakh has been going on since 27 September. Nagorno-Karabakh, which has a population of about 145,000, is controlled by Armenian forces but is recognized by the United Nations as part of predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan can count on Turkey's support in the conflict. Russia, on the other hand, is armenia's protective power.;A
PL;The fight for Nagorno-Karabakh does not stop. Stepanakert was evacuated [CORRESPONDENCE];Although there is contradictory information as to who controls the strategic city of Shushi, one thing is certain - the situation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia troops is not very good.23-year-old Dawid and 30-year-old Sos Sargisjanowie are brothers. The younger one is a student of mathematics at the University of Stepanakert, and the older one is a graduate, and has been working as a programmer for six years. They inherited their passion for this field from their father, also a mathematician. Currently, however, they have to defend their hometown of Shushi (Azerbaijani Susa), where a tough battle is fought between Azerbaijan forces and the republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, which is not recognized by the world.On November 8, Baku announced the seizure of the city, and representatives of the republic and Yerevan denied it.;A
PL;Nagorno-Karabakh: Macron tries to mediate. Another 50 soldiers are dead;"French President Emmanuel Macron has tried to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which are waging a bloody conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. So far, he has not been able to reach an agreement. Another 50 soldiers have died, the president of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh Republic reported on Saturday.Armenia said Saturday it would use ""all necessary measures"" to protect ethnic Armenians from an attack by Azerbaijan. The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has been going on for the seventh day now, and the international calls for a truce have failed.The fights concern Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan that broke away from it in the 1990s. The death toll is at least 230 people. On Saturday, the president of the internationally unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arajik Harutiunian, announced that another 50 soldiers were killed.The clashes are the worst since the 1990s. The international community is concerned about destabilizing the region, which is rich in oil and gas.Emmanuel Macron tries to mediateOn Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron called Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev with a new mediation proposal, but the parties stuck in their positions.""According to the president of Azerbaijan, Armenia's leaders are fully responsible for breaking the negotiations and armed confrontation,"" was the statement from the Aliyev office after the French president's call. Pashinyan, on the other hand, in his television address, compared the conflict to the war with Ottoman Turkey at the beginning of the 20th century.""This is the new Sardarapat [the battle that made independent Armenia possible] and we all have to commit ourselves to one goal - fighting for victory,"" he said.";N
PL;Shocking entry from an Azeri club employee. He called for genocide;"Karabakh's communications manager, Agdam Nurlan Ibrahimov, has been temporarily suspended by UEFA pending clarification. He is accused, as you can read in the press release, of racist and discriminatory behavior. Specifically, this is one entry that Ibrahimow posted on social media.In it, Ibrahimov was to call for ""killing all Armenians, young and old, without exception."" He later deleted his post, but many users saw it and saved it.";E
PL;Nagorno-Karabakh. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responding to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus;On Sunday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau referred to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. “The only sensible road ahead of Armenia and Azerbaijan is a ceasefire,” he wrote on Twitter.“I am observing the development of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with concern. The only reasonable path ahead of Armenia and Azerbaijan is a ceasefire, de-escalation and negotiations,” Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau referred to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday.Concern over information about armed clashes in this region was expressed in a separate entry by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We call for an end to fighting, de-escalation and resumption of peace talks, especially within the OSCE Minsk Group,” it was written.Nagorno-Karabakh disputeAzerbaijan and Armenia blame each other for the escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the Armenian authorities, it was Azerbaijani forces that attacked civilian settlements in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In turn, Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said that Armenian armed forces “carried out large provocations” and fired on positions of the Azerbaijani army and border towns.The escalation of the conflict resulted in the introduction of martial law in Armenia and general mobilization, as announced by the country’s prime minister Nikol Pashinyan on Sunday. The Azerbaijani authorities do not see the need for military mobilization at present.Recording provided by the Armenian militaryReutersThe armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in 1988, just before the collapse of the USSR. The clashes turned into a war between the already independent Armenia and Azerbaijan: it consumed approx. 30 thousand. fatalities. In 1994 an armistice was signed. Unrecognized by the world, mostly inhabited and Armenian-controlled enclave, although it has declared secession, formally remains part of Azerbaijan. Clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan forces have intensified in recent months.;A
PL;Betrayal or the end of bloodshed? The cessation of the war for Nagorno-Karabakh divided the Armenians [CORRESPONDENCE FROM EYIVAN];"Protests continue in Armenia following the signing of a peace agreement with Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh. In the streets of Yerevan, shouts of ""go away"" and ""traitor"" are heard, directed at Prime Minister Pashinyan, who is its signatory.For some it is a betrayal, for others it is the end of bloodshed - the decision to suspend the war over Nagorno-Karabakh divided the country.From the entry into force of the peace agreement on November 10, several hundred to several thousand protesters have been appearing on the streets of Yerevan every day. They are demanding the resignation of the government and withdrawal from the contract.Including there was an incursion into the parliament, robberies in the government building, arrests and scuffles with the police. Most of the marches and protests, however, are peaceful.";E
PT;Azerbaijan government says Armenia attacked several civilian targets in armed conflict;"Armenia attacked several civilian targets on Sunday morning, including the cities of Tartar, Horadiz and Ganja, the second most important city in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan government said.""Armenia has launched rockets on Ganja. Armenian armed forces deliberately attack the cities of Tartar and Horadiz with heavy artillery and rocket systems. There have also been rocket attacks on cities in the regions of Fuzuli and Jabrail,"" said the Azerbaijan Presidency adviser. , Hikmet Hajiyev.According to the senior Azerbaijan official, ""several civilians have been killed or injured as a result of these attacks"".";A
PT;Armenia says ready for mediation and ceasefire in conflict zone with Azerbaijan;"Armenia said on Friday it was ready to work with the mediation group made up of Russia, the United States and France to adopt a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Azerbaijan faces separatists supported by Yerevan.""We are ready to join the countries that preside over the OSCE Minsk Group [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] to restore a ceasefire based on the 1994-1995 agreements,"" said the Armenian diplomacy, in a statement. .The presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, USA, Donald Trump, and France, Emmanuel Macron, on Thursday called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to cease hostilities through an immediate ceasefire, particularly in the separatist enclave of Nagorno -Karabakh, fighting scene since last Sunday.";A
PT;Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists has claimed 39 lives. Know the details of the conflict;"Azerbaijan on Sunday launched a counteroffensive against Armenian separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region after an attack by separatists. The Armenian government, which supports the separatist cause, reported on Sunday that two Azerbaijan helicopters had been shot down, starting hostilities that have already claimed 31 lives.According to the authorities of the separatist territory, the number of their soldiers killed since the start of the fighting on Sunday rose to 32. To these soldiers are added seven civilian victims, five Azeris (the inhabitants of Azerbaijan) and two Armenians.Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev on Monday decreed a partial mobilization in the country due to increased tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, where fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces took place on Sunday.Aliev on Sunday decreed martial law across the country and curfew in some cities, following the conflict in the Azerbaijan breakaway region of Armenia, which has claimed 39 lives, including seven civilians.Nagorny Karabakh is a breakaway region in Azerbaijan, populated mainly by Armenians and supported by Armenia, having been a stage of war in the 90s. 30,000 people died at the time and since then there have been regular clashes in the region, with talks peace in an impasse for several years. In 2016, serious armed clashes almost degenerated into a war in Karabakh.""Earlier this morning, the Azerbaijan side launched bomb attacks along the entire contact line. They are also bombing Stepanakert (the capital). We ask the population to protect themselves,"" said the spokesman for the separatist presidency on his page. from the social network Facebook on Sunday.";N
PT;Russia says there is agreement to cease fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh;"Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Azerbaijan and Armenia had reached an agreement to cease fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the scene of armed conflicts since the end of September.According to the RT, the Executive revealed that Russian peacekeepers will be deployed along the contact line and the road link between the region and Armenia.Moscow announced the launch of the first six Russian peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh, totaling 1,960 military personnel, 90 armored vehicles and 380 vehicles.Azerbaijan and Armenia signed on Monday, under the auspices of Russia, an agreement for ""a total ceasefire"" in Nagorno-Karabakh.Turkey has already welcomed Azerbaijan's ""significant gains"" against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh.""Azerbaijan has made significant gains in the field and at the negotiating table. I warmly congratulate [the Azeris] on their success,"" said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu in a message posted on Twitter.""With our brothers in Azerbaijan, we will continue to be one nation and one heart,"" he added, reiterating Turkey's support for Baku.Iran welcomed the agreement reached in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, South Caucasus, and reiterated its demand for the withdrawal of ""all foreign fighters"" from this region close to its border.""Iran welcomes the agreement between the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation that led to a ceasefire,"" said a statement from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Tehran intends that this truce ""materialize in definitive measures that will allow a lasting peace to be established in the Caucasus in order to allow the return of calm and prosperity for the populations of all countries in the region and that will contribute to appease current concerns"", he adds. the text.";A
RO;Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of violating temporary ceasefire agreement;"Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of violating a temporary ceasefire agreement in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Saturday after marathon truce talks took place in Moscow on Friday.The ceasefire agreement, reached after ten-hour negotiations in Moscow, which was also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, aimed to stop hostilities so that Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan can exchange prisoners and recover the bodies of those killed.   The Moscow talks were the first diplimatic contact between the two sides since the recent violence began on September 27, which killed more than 300 people.   The enclave is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but is populated and administered by Armenians.   Shortly after the agreement came into force - at noon on Saturday - both sides were accused of violating it, Reuters reports.   The Armenian Defense Ministry accused Azerbaijan of bombing a settlement in Armenia, and Armenian forces in Karabakh claimed that Azerbaijani forces had launched a new offensive immediately.   Azerbaijan said the enemy forces in Karabakh bombed The Azerbaijani territory.   Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told RBC that the parties to the war are now engaged in an attempt to reach a political settlement, but suggested that the fighting would continue.   ""We will go all the way and take what is, by right, ours,"" he said.   Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said the deal would only take as long as it would take the Red Cross to arrange the exchange of the deceased.   At a briefing in Baku, he said Azerbaijan hopes and expects to take over larger territory in time.   The Armenian Foreign Ministry said it uses all diplomatic channels to try to support the ceasefire, while the Foreign Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijan of using talks on a deal to cover up its military action.   Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who brokered marathon negotiations, said in a statement on Saturday that a temporary ceasefire was decided on humanitarian grounds.   Lavrov said the two countries would now start ""substantial"" talks. They will be kept under the auspices of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe).   Azerbaijan said it wanted a change in the format of the talks, wanting to involve Turkey, and on Saturday accused France of not being a neutral mediator.   Putin spoke by phone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday about the agreement, the Kremlin announced. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif later tweeted that the agreement was a step toward peace.   Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center and former colonel in the Russian army, also tweeted. He believes that any discussion of peace could fail and that Azerbaijan will continue to push for Armenian forces to leave the enclave, which is unacceptable to Armenia.   ""For Russia, the most important issues in the South Caucasus are securing borders against jihadists coming from the Middle East and elsewhere and Turkey's growing role in the region. This means that Moscow cannot turn its back on the nagorno-Karabakh conflict and allow the war to proceed,"" he wrote.   The resumption of fighting in the three-decade-old conflict has raised fears of a wider war involving Turkey, an Azerbaijani ally, and Russia, which has a defence pact with Armenia.   Violent confrontations have also led to growing fears about the security of pipelines carrying oil and gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.   The fighting now is the worst since the 1991-1994 war, in which 30,000 people died and ended with a ceasefire agreement that was repeatedly violated.   Turkey welcomed the recent ceasefire agreement, but said much more was needed. The Azerbaijani and Turkish Foreign Ministers also spoke by phone on Saturday.";N
RO;Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on temporary ceasefire;"Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on a temporary ceasefire in the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Russian Foreign Minister announced after midnight, following ten hours of talks in Moscow, the BBC reports.Sergei Lavrov said the two countries would now start ""substantial"" talks.   More than 300 people have died and thousands of people have been displaced since the conflicting violence began on September 27.   Hostilities were halted at noon on Saturday to allow a prisoner exchange and the recovery of the bodies of the deceased.   Nagorno-Karabakh is ruled by ethnic Armenians, although it is officially part of Azerbaijan.   The two former Soviet republics blamed each other for the outbreak of recent violence, the worst in about three decades.   Russia has a military base in Armenia and both are part of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) alliance. Moscow, on the other hand, has good relations with Azerbaijan.   On Friday, the Armenian Defense Minister said the fighting had continued, despite talks in Moscow. On Thursday, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of deliberately bombing a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, Azerbaijan said the country's second largest city, Ganja, and the Goranboy region were bombed by Armenian forces, an attack in which at least one civilian died.   Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pasinian warned this week of ""genocide"" in the region that he said was ""Armenia, armenian land.""   The clashes led to the displacement of half of Nagorno-Karabakh's population, about 70,000, officials said.   The region's main city, Stepanakert, was hit by numerous bombings, with people sheltering in basements, and the city running out of electricity.   Armenia and Azerbaijan began the war for the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 1988-1989. They agreed to a cease-fire, but they never reached a deal.";N
RO;Moment a rocket hits a car-driven road in Nagorno Karabah;"Cctv footage recently posted on social media shows a missile hitting a bridge near Asagi Sus, in the Nagorno Karabah region, where the toughest fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forcesin recent years is taking place. The video shows the rocket exploding just a few dozen metres in front of a car that was about to fire the bridge.The clip was broadcast on Twitter on October 2, a week after the 40-year-old conflict in the area was re-emergenceed. So far, both Armenians and Azenes have suffered significant casualties in human and combat techniques in recent days.According to The Drive and Jerusalem Post, the rocket, pulled by The Azeri on the access road between Armenia and Nagorno Karabah, is Israeli-made.More specifically, it would be a precision missile LORA (LOng Range Attack), with a range of 400 kilometers, capable of carrying a load of 570 kilograms of explosive, with sub-monms, or of the ""bunker buster"" type. The missile has a ""probable circular error"" of 10 meters.According to the Jerusalem Post, Azerbaijan is the only country to which Israel has supplied Ula missiles, as part of an agreement reached between the two countries in 2018.";N
RO;Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia's perspective: Turkey brings Islamists from Syria and wants to provoke a reaction from Russia;"Nagorno-Karabakh is the most significant conflict in the Caucasus and the most dangerous unresolved situation that arose after the collapse of the Soviet Union. There is war again in the region, and greater powers are indirectly involved in the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Leaders from all over the world are calling for an end to hostilities, and the most vocal are Trump, Putin and Macron, the representatives of the countries responsible for coordinating peace talks between the parties.In an interview with Digi24, Serghey Minasyan, Armenia's ambassador to Bucharest, explains this conflict from his country's perspective.Nagorno-Karabakh, the creation of StalinNagorno-Karabakh is Stalin's creation, from his time as commissioner for nationalities in the Soviet Union. When Azerbaijan was taken over by the Bolsheviks in 1920, they needed public support, so they promised The Karabah of Armenia. Because they had to reassure Turkey, the main friend and partner of the Azerbaijanis, they agreed that Azerbaijan would still be in control of the region. Before the collapse of the USSR, Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh sent a petition to Moscow calling for union with Armenia. The situation escalated after the former Soviet states became independent and turned into a full-blown war, with tens of thousands of victims and hundreds of thousands of refugees. It all lasted until 1994, when the parties concluded a truce. It's just that a frozen problem isn't a solved one, so there's fighting going on again in the region.Reasons for the resumption of the nagorno-Karabakh warCristina Cileacu: There is an ongoing war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which is officially owned by Azerbaijan but is run by ethnic Armenians. Why did this conflict, frozen in 1994, resume now?Sergey Minasyan, Ambassador of Armenia to Romania: First, if we are talking about the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh is a state entity that was established during the soviet Union period and after the fall of the USSR, a political entity appeared on this former Azerbaijani territory, that is, the current Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. You remember in the '90s there was a full-scale war. Since 1994 a trilateral relationship has been established between Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, with the help of international mediators. Unfortunately, after this mid-1990s period, Azerbaijan's leadership was unable to succeed in direct negotiations with the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. The negotiating format was under the auspices of the OSCE, chaired by France, Russia and the US, but unfortunately the attempts were not successful, not because of the position of the international community, but because of the uncompromising position of the Azerbaijani leadership. It seems that The gas and oil revenues that Azerbaijan has had since the mid-2000s changed the calculations of the Azerbaijani leadership related to the nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They thought that if they bought a lot of sophisticated weapons from several countries, primarily from Israel...Cristina Cileacu: First of all, from Russia!Sergey Minasyan: Russia, you know, the amount of weapons bought by The Azeri from Russia is quite large. But why did I say Israel in the first place, because unfortunately, Israel has transferred the most sophisticated part of the armaments that the Azerbaijani side, with the help of Turkey, is now using on the front.Cristina Cileacu: Talk about drones.Sergey Minasyan: Drones and other types of missiles and weapons systems. Of course, the main idea of the Azerbaijani side was to try to change this military-political balance, through military power and technological superiority on the front lines.Armenia brings serious charges to TurkeyCristina Cileacu: So, sorry to interrupt, but what you're saying is that because they bought new weapons, they started the war again?Sergey Minasyan: It was a framework or a basis of the current situation. But now it's obvious what the trigger is and it's not something that comes down to the southern caucasus region. There are many statements, from the President of France, from the leadership of Russia, Iran, international observers, too, and they all say that the recent escalation came with the direct support of Turkey, and now we see that this is the first time that Turkey has actually been involved in the military and political process in the southern Caucasus.But the most important and disturbing indicator of this is that they support the transport of Islamist terrorist groups, especially from northern Syria, to Azerbaijan. We already have a lot of evidence about this, and the international community is also informed. And somehow it is also understandable, because it is part of what is called the ""long-term game"" that Turkey's leadership is playing, which is trying to use hybrid Turkish-style elements of war, that is, these terrorist militias, as it has done in many places in the Middle East, including Syria, Libya, and now we see that, with the support of Turkey, In Azerbaijan, Islamists have begun to emerge.What's Russia doing?Turkish President Recep Erdogan's statements about the resumed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh have raised many questions among the international community, especially because of the moves Turkey has made in recent years in northern Syria, Libya and the Mediterranean through its recent dispute with Greece. The leader in Ankara is now seen as the author of the resumption of this war. On the other hand, the main voice calling for calm and the resumption of negotiations is Russia's, through President Putin.Cristina Cileacu: We are back to this subject, but let us talk a little bit about the interventions of the leaders of Turkey and Russia. Erdogan's position was clear, he argues Azerbaijan, because of course the Azeri are a Muslim population. Russia, on the other hand, intervened to calm the situation. How much does it matter to the parties to the conflict, I mean of course Armenia and Azerbaijan, the two interventions?Sergey Minasyan: Sometimes from the outside it is seen as a kind of war through intermediaries, between Turkey and Russia. But in reality it's not. Of course, in the case of Turkey we see direct involvement. On the other hand, in the case of Russia we have a different situation, because they are not just a regional and global power for this conflict, they are also one of the three presidents of the OSCE negotiating group in Minsk, together with the US and France. So we can't talk about any direct Russian involvement with Armenia. Political and military cooperation are formed, including the transfer of weapons and military equipment. But Russia's official position is that it is trying to maintain a kind of neutrality towards Armenia and Azerbaijan. But of course, if a broader framework for this conflict is to be reached, for example, if Turkey decides to be directly involved against the Republic of Armenia, I believe that not only Russia, but also other members of the international community, including other regional powers, will make their point.Until the conflict is over, the international community considers Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Leaders of the OSCE group in Minsk, the US, Russia and France, who support negotiations for a peaceful solution for the region, reacted quickly and called for a ceasefire.Cristina Cileacu: Is Turkey really present in Azerbaijan? Wouldn't that be a very big step that Russia would not tolerate?Sergey Minasyan: Since the last military exercises in Azerbaijan, some of the military aircraft, as well as some of the Turkish military, have remained in Azerbaijan. So we can talk about direct involvement of Turkish instructors and officers on the Azerbaijani side on the Nagorno-Karabakh front. However, it is understandable if there were a reaction from the north, moreover, the emergence and activation of Turkey in the Caucasus, in Nagorno-Karabakh, is actually aimed at provoking a reaction from Moscow, perhaps to discuss other geopolitical issues elsewhere, in the Middle East or the Mediterranean. Syrian mercenaries also fight in Nagorno-KarabakhAre or are there not involved in the war in Nagono-Karabah mercenary fighters brought from Syria? I am, but who brought them? Depends on who you ask, because each of the two fighting sides, Armenia and Azerbaijan, has a different perspective.Cristina Cileacu: During a war, both parties involved usually use propaganda. It's also a weapon that's used in a war. Let's go back a little bit to the presence of Middle Eastern fighters, militias in the region. You said that Turkey has brought militia fighters from Syria, on the other hand the Aizean say that Russia has brought Syrian-Armenians, it is a large armenian community living in Syria, to fight on the front there. So what's it really like?Sergey Minasyan: Evidence of the presence of Islamist militias on the Azerbaijani side was accepted not only on the Armenian side. When the information comes from the President of France, for example, or you see the same kind of statements in the official statements of the Russian Foreign Minister or officials in Iran or even military sources in the US, and this topic is discussed by the leadership of Armenia with leaders from Germany, Russia or others, it follows that it is a situation that makes sense and that we see on the ground. About what the Azeri said about the armenian-Syrianpresence, maybe they're Armenians from Lebanon, from Russia, as the Azerbaijanis outside their country would like to return to Azerbaijan, but I didn't see that happening. But things are not about using Islamist groups that are on the UN's list of terrorist organizations. Here the situation is completely different. There's no evidence from the Azenes of any group of middle Eastern volunteers with the Armenians.What does Armenia want from this war?Cristina Cileacu: War is very complicated for the public. In the case of the Azeans, they were clear that they wanted the Armenians to leave Nagorno-Karabakh. What does Armenia want from this war?Sergey Minasyan: Armenia, the Republic of Armenia and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, as an unrecognized entity living in the conflict zone, want peace. They want direct negotiations with the Azerbaijani side to try to resolve this situation, because we have talked so far about the political, military, diplomatic and geopolitical dimension of this conflict, but the most tragic thing we see is that every day soldiers and civilians die. On the fifth or sixth day of this conflict, the Azerbaijani side began bombing the capital Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert. A lot of civilians died. Of course, this has led to a reaction from the authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh and we are witnessing a new round of intensification of the fighting. So we should think about civilians, we should think about how to move forward and end the fighting through direct negotiations between the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan. On the front we see these battles, but we should consider how, with the help of the international community, it would be possible for the parties involved to reach a stable truce and try to resolve this confict, so that it does not end up being a burden for future generations.Cristina Cileacu: It is a solution proposed by Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, who said that to start negotiations it is only necessary for Armenia to withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh. How about that?Sergey Minasyan: First, there are no Armenian troops in the region. Second, as I said at the beginning of our discussion, the real problem of the Azerbaijani leadership is that it wants everything without demonstrating that it is ready to compromise. If you say that Armenia should withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh, it also means that the entire Armenian population should leave Nagorno-Karabakh. This is not a proposal, it is just an ultimatum that cannot be taken into account either by Armenia or by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.Iran, a worried and neutral neighborIran is very careful about what is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh, because basically the war is on its border, but officially it is not on the side of any combatant. President Hassan Rouhani has also joined voices calling for a ceasefire. At the same time, in Iran, the population of Azerbaijani origins is protesting and asking for support for Azerbaijan.Cristina Cileacu: You mentioned earlier Iran, neighbor to both countries involved in the conflict, but in Iran there are also protests that support the Azerbaijani side. How do you see this position of Iran, which is also a major player in the region, not just Turkey.Sergey Minasyan: Iran is a major player not only in our region, but in a wider region, and it is a known thing. Yes, Iran is a multinational country and because of this Iran's position is quite clear and they have already had a statement in response to bringing terrorist groups directly to Iran's northern border. I understand that the leaders of Iran are trying to be ready for any kind of surprise from the north, I mean the Azerbaijani side. They also had a statement condemning the party that wants to involve these Islamist groups in the region, and I think it's clear to whom the message was addressed.An island of democracy surrounded by autocratsCristina Cileacu: Your country went through a revolution two years ago and is now trying to develop as a democracy. But if we look around it it is surrounded by fewer democracies and more autocrats. Including this conflict are involved three autocrats: Ilham Aliyev, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Do you see this as an attack on Armenia's democracy?Sergey Minasyan: The day before the start of the war, the Prime Minister of Armenia gave an interview in which he spoke about his previous talks with Ilham Aliyev, held immediately after the Revolution (n.r. from Armenia) and said that during these talks Ilham Aliyev asked him not to play the book of the revolution in negotiations, because there were rumors in both countries that this revolutionary wave could have reached Azerbaijan. That's why, from this perspective, I think it's obvious that when we talk about the neighbouring country ruled by a dynasty of almost 60 years, because, you know, the current Azerbaijani president is the son of the former KGB general.Cristina Cilacu: Heidar Aliyev, yes.Sergey Minasyan: The former leader of the Political Bureau, who was the leader of Soviet Azerbaijan in the mid-1960s, so we're talking about something totally different. I should also say about Armenia's success at the front, including the Nagorno-Karabakh army in maintaining its position on the front line, because after 10 days of conflict, the Azerbaijani side has failed to do much. And this was made possible by the revolutionary enthusiasm that came after the Velvet Revolution in April-May 2018.";N
RS;Armenia and Azerbaijan: No hint of negotiations, new footage of war, photos of crashed plane;"A bitter clash between Armenia and Azerbaijan over nagorno-Karabakh territory continued on Wednesday despite efforts to force both sides into negotiations, something they have so far rejected.Both Armenia and Azerbaijan report civilian casualties, but continue to claim heavy losses to the other side.Early Wednesday, Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry announced that Armenian forces had begun shelling the town of Tartar and reportedly had wounded civilians.Azerbaijan also says it will not halt military operations until Armenian forces fully withdraw from the disputed territory.Armenia, on the other hand, has announced the name of an Air Force pilot who it claims was shot down by a Turkish F-16 jet on Tuesday.One of the world's longest-running tiniest clashes was brutally revived this weekend and the state of war is in effect in both countries, as well as in the territory they are fighting over.War effects – latest recordingsBoth sides accuse each other of continuing artillery action and say there are wounded civilians.They also claim to have successful effects and are making losses to an opponent.Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry claims that the Armenian side on Wednesday, October 30th, 2007, was arrested in The Hague. From 8am on September 8th, shelling of the town of Tartar began and civilian targets were targeted and there were wounded.The Armenian Defence Ministry says active artillery fire is taking place throughout the entire length of the front line in Karabakh.According to the Armenian side, Azerbaijan launched a new major offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh early Wednesday.""This morning in the north of Karabakh, the Azerbaijani armed forces began large-scale offensive actions. The enemy is from the air, artillery and rocket weapons. High-range weapons and precision weapons, drones are used,"" Interfas quoted Artrsun Hovanisian, Armenia's defence minister, as telling reporters.Armenian Defence Ministry State Secretary Sushan Stepanian announced on her Facebook page that Azerbaijani planes are attacking positions of the Nagorno-Karabakh defence force in the north of the territory, and that Turkish drones are involved.""Turkish F-16s have been spotted,"" she wrote.Both sides publish daily footage from the frontline.BBC not responsible for third-party content in videosAzerbaijan's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday morning that in three days of fighting , active hostilities began on the night of 27 March 1995. [Getty) -- The Armenian armed forces reportedly lost 2,300 soldiers, who were killed or wounded, as well as without 130 tanks and other heavy equipment, more than 200 artillery and other facilities, up to 25 air defence systems.The Armenian Defence Ministry said yesterday that Azerbaijan has reportedly lost 790 troops since the start of hostilities, with 1.9,000 wounded. Also, Armenian forces destroyed 137 Azerbaijani tanks, 72 drones, seven helicopters and an An-2 plane.Nagorno-Karabakh Deputy Defence Minister Arthur Sargsyan said 17 tanks, four armoured personnel carriers, three units of engineering and technical armoured vehicles, 13 drones, and more than 500 Azerbaijani soldiers were destroyed on Tuesday.Controversy over the planeArmenia said late Tuesday that one of its warplanes shot down an Azerbaijani ally's warplane, Turkey, in the latest incident, when a pilot was killed.Turkey denies the allegations.""The Turkish Air Force did not shoot down an Armenian plane,"" the Turkish presidency said.The Azerbaijan Defence Ministry also denies the information.""There are no F-16 fighters on The Territory of Azerbaijan, nor is Azerbaijan using military aviation at all at the moment,"" the ministry told the BBC.On Wednesday, however, the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced the name of the pilot of the downed Su-25 jet.""On Tuesday, March 29, 2015, the u.S. President of the United On September 25th, an Armenian Su-25 fighter jet carrying out a combat mission to repel an attack by the Azerbaijani side was shot down by an F-16 fighter jet belonging to the Turkish Air Force.""A Turkish plane took off from Azerbaijan's Ganja airport. Major Valery Danielin, pilot of the Armenian armed forces, was killed,"" the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.On Wednesday, the Armenian ministry released photos of the plane, which it claims was shot down.Azerbaijan, however, claims that two Armenian planes were not shot down, but that they hit a mountain and exploded.""Allegations that a Turkish F-16 jet shot down an Armenian Su-25 aircraft are absurd and are new misinformation from Armenia,"" Azerbaijan Deputy President Hikmet Haxhiev said.""According to our information, two Su-25 jets were on Tuesday, March 29, 2015, in The Hague,"" the statement said. September 2015, took off from Armenian territory. Both aircraft crashed into the mountain and exploded,"" Haxhiev told Azharbeican agency APA.Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have declared a state of war and military mobilization.A curfew was imposed in parts of Azerbaijan between 21:00 and 6:00.Both Armenia and Azerbaijan reject negotiationsThe UN Security Council condemned the use of force and urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to urgently halt fighting and resume talks without preconditions.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Russian television Russia 1 that Baku is committed to negotiating a resolution, but that Armenia is obstructing the process.""The Armenian prime minister publicly declares that Karabakh (part) of Armenia, period. In this case, what kind of negotiation process can we discuss?,"" the Azerbaijan president said.Armenian Prime Minister Nicolas Pashinian told the same television station that ""it is very difficult to talk about negotiations when certain military operations are under way"".He said there was no military solution to the conflict and called for compromise.However, he added that Azerbaijan must first ""immediately end its aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia"".""We all see this as an existential threat to our nation, we see it as a war declared to the Armenian people, and now our people are simply forced to use the right to self-defence,"" the Armenian prime minister said.He also rejected the idea of an international peacekeeping mission eventually arriving in the conflict zone.""No, something like that is not on the table,"" the Armenian prime minister told Russian reporters.Pashinian also told reporters that Armenia is not ready for Russian-brokered negotiations with Azerbaijan.""During intense hostility, it is inappropriate to talk about the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Russia summit. Negotiations require an appropriate atmosphere,"" he said.He also noted that Armenia is considering ""recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh's independence"", as well as possible military-political co-operation.Azerbaijan has said it will resume military operations until the full withdrawal of Armenian forces from the disputed territory, according to the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry.Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan in the conflict, says it wants a solution but that it will be permanent.""We have worked hard to reach a peaceful solution. Now we need to work this out,"" Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after talks at the Azerbaijan Embassy on Tuesday.The deputy leader of Turkey's ruling party, Numan Kurtulmus, who was with Čavasoglu, added that Turkey sees the ""attack on Azerbaijan"" as an attack on its territory.Cavusoglu says the country is ready to support Azerbaijan not only diplomatically, but also on the battlefield, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.""Together with Armenia and Azerbaijan, we support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Georgia. But Azerbaijan is comparable to Armenia, which occupied their territory, and that is unacceptable,"" Cavusoglu said.Turkey will always and everywhere support Azerbaijan, the Anatolia news agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying in response to a question about whether Turkey would provide military assistance to Azerbaijan.He also stressed that ""Azerbaijan has enough strength to liberate the territory that is occupied.""Kurtulmus, deputy leader of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Armenia of provocations, adding that ""we consider the attacks on Azerbaijan attacks on Turkey"".European Union (EU) Foreign Minister Giuseppe Borrell earlier on Monday said the EU considers any foreign interference in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict ""unacceptable"".The conflict is spreading beyond the borders of Nagorno Karabakh.";N
RS;Azerbaijan: Armenia suffers heavy losses, armed forces forced to withdraw;A spokesman for Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry, Lieutenant Colonel Anar Avazov, claims that the Armenian armed forces suffered heavy losses on the fifth day of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.- The Armenian armed forces are forced to retreat in various directions, Avazov said at today's briefing.Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry said that during a counteroffensive by the Azerbaijani armed forces on 27 March 2007, the Azerbaijani armed forces were killed in a counter-offensive. September incapacitated up to 200 tanks, more than 228 artillery weapons, 300 air defence systems, six command-and-control checkpoints, five ammunition depots and one S-300 Armenian armed forces anti-aircraft missile complex.Earlier, Armenian Vice Prime Minister Tigran Avigan claimed that 1,280 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed and 2,700 wounded during five days of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.Today, Avigan published an infographic on his Facebook page, saying that in addition to those figures, Azerbaijan has lost 90 drones, 12 helicopters, 181 tanks and an infantry combat vehicle, three heavy fire systems, two Smerch systems and four aircraft since the escalation.;A
RS;Tank, artillery and drone battles: Azerbaijan has a stronger and more numerous army, but Armenia has an ACE up its sleeve;"A war between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces has flared up in Nagorno-Karabakh. Tensions between the two countries have not stopped over the years, despite attempts by foreign diplomats to reach a peaceful solution. For now, the fighting is mainly led by artillery, tanks, drones and helicopters.What do the armenian and Azerbaijan armies have?The armies of Azerbaijan and Armenia are dominated by Soviet and Russian armaments, respectively. When it comes to their conflict, two other major interested powers, Turkey and Russia, must be mentioned.Russia sells arms to both countries and has intensive military co-operation with Armenia. There is also a Russian military base on Armenia soil. Armenia is also a member of the ODKB (Collective Security Treaty Organization), which gives it greater opportunities to co-operate with Russia and purchase weapons.Turkey openly supports Azerbaijan. Armenia claims they are being attacked by Turkish F-16 jets and that one shot down an Armenian Su-25, something Azerbaijan and Turkey deny.Much of the weapons and techniques of Azerbaijan and Armenia have already been lost in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, and reconstruction and investment in the army has since begun.The outcomes of military conflicts are not always easy to predict, and they depend on many factors. Analysts generally agree that Azerbaijan has a stronger and more numerous army, but that Armenia has some strategic advantages because of the configuration of the terrain and the areas it controls.Azerbaijan shows off its muscles on land, in the air and at seaAccording to the Global Firepower Index website, which ranks the world's armies, Azerbaijan ranks 64th in the world. of the 138 places on the list, RTS quoted him as saying.The country has about 67,000 active troops and about 300,000 more in reserve (the total population is about 10 million people).Azerbaijan's defence budget stands at $2 billion and $805m. The country, like Armenia, has multiplyed its military budget over the past decade. According to CIA data, Azerbaijan's defence budget for 2019 is 1.5% of the world's total. In 2014, it stood at 4% of GDP, which is very high, placing it 10th in the world by that parameter.When it comes to mechanization, it is stated that Azerbaijan has about 500 tanks, and more than 1,400 armored vehicles. The army compiles T-55, T-72 and T-90S tanks. The BTR-60 and BTR-70 dominate among the armored personnel transporters.There are 187 pieces of self-hide artillery, and 227 pieces of tow artillery, as well as mortars. The most precarious is the self-arresting howitzer 2S3, better known as ""gvozdika"".Azerbaijan's air force counts a total of 147 aircraft. The base consists of ""mig 29"" planes purchased from Ukraine. Last year, a craft of this type crashed into the Caspian Sea. After that, and because of the Armenian procurement of new aircraft, seriously, the procurement and modernisation of Azerbaijan's multi-purpose aircraft began to be seriously considered.Besides, there's the Su-24 and the Su-25, as well as the ""mig 21"". Azerbaijan also owns a transport il-76.Azerbaijan has 88 helicopters. Of those, 15 are offensive Mi-24s. When it comes to transport helicopters, there are Mi-8s and an easily armed Mi-2 transport helicopter.Unlike Armenia, which has no way out to sea, azerbaijan's armed forces also have a navy of 31 vessels. Four submarines and one frigate should be mentioned.Armenia issues nearly 5 % of GDP for defenceThe Global Firepower Index lists the Armenian army as ranked 111st in the world. Place. It includes 45,000 active soldiers and 200,000 reservists (a total population of about three million people).The defence budget is $1.385m. According to the CIA, Armenia allocates 4.9% of GDP for defence, and is seventh in the world by that parameter. The percentage of Azerbaijan and Armenia's allocation for military and defence says a lot about the awareness and readiness of these countries for warfare.Armenia has 110 tanks, the most subdued of which are T-72s. The army includes 748 armoured combat vehicles, dominated by BMP-1.There are also self-arresting howitzers 2S1, but there's more traction artillery.According to data from most websites, the Air Force consists of 64 aircraft, nine of which are fighter jets, three transport and 13 school aircraft.However, Armenia recently acquired Su-30SM aircraft from Russia, and additional deliveries are planned. It's a four-plus-generation aircraft, exceptional features and manoeuverability.Armenia has 37 helicopters, 20 of which are offensive. Starring Mi-24.Nagorno-Karabakh's forces, consisting of 20,000 well-trained soldiers and officers, must also be mentioned, which is a constant state of alert. Their training and exercises are very common and intense.They are equipped with tanks, artillery and PVO systems, as well as a small number of planes and helicopters.What have we seen so far?Assessing the state of armies ""on paper"" and doing rankings is always ungrateful because it does not show data on the state of technique, weapons and training and morale of soldiers, rtS writes.We don't know what scale the latest escalation of the conflict will be due to Nagorno-Karabakh, but so far the fighting is mainly led by tanks, artillery and drones. The data on human and material losses is different, but based on published footage and photographs, we can conclude what has been used so far from weapons and equipment.Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry has shown footage of alleged drone strikes against Armenian troops. According to them, they destroyed at least six PVO systems of the 9K33 ""wasp"" and three 9k35 ""arrow 10"".Although the Azerbaijani military has not said what type of drone it used, an analysis by The Drive magazine suggests it was most likely a Turkish-made TB2S ""bayraktar"" drone, which was obtained in June this year.The drone can launch less precisely guided missiles and has already shown itself fighting in Syria and Libya, especially against smaller-range PVO systems.Azerbaijan has also acquired an Israeli ""harop"" drone, but it is not known if it was used in the latest attacks.Azerbaijani drones are seen to have destroyed or damaged several T-72 tanks, BMP-1 and BMP-2 armored vehicles, trucks and artillery belonging to the Armenian army and Nagorno-Karabakh forces.On the other hand, we have footage showing Armenian forces destroying Azerbaijani T-72 tanks, as well as BMP-1 and BMP-2 armadillos. At least one BTR-82 anti-armor guided missile transporter was also destroyed.These missiles are particularly suitable for fighting on the Nagorno-Karabakh mountainous terrain, which poses a problem for the movement of heavy artillery.There are also unconfirmed reports of the downing of an Armenian Mi-8 helicopter and a drone.Both countries have more advanced weapons that have not yet been used. Azerbaijan, for example, claims to destroy S-300 systems approaching the conflict zone.Certainly, an even more intense conflict between the two countries would hardly have passed without direct or indirect interference from foreign powers, especially since the Caucas is in a strategically important position where many see their interests.";N
RS;The treaty has been reached, the Russian peacekeepers have arrived, but this is why the whole world is still anxious;"Russia's peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian region at disputed with Azerbaijan, has released a map detailing future operations and clarifying many territorial ambiguities in the ceasefire announced by Yewan and Baku on 10 March. November.According to the map, the situation in the region will mostly return to the conditions that existed before the first modern war between the two countries in 1991. – Azerbaijan will deploy artillery on the hills near the town of Shushi, a few kilometers from the capital Nagorno-Karabakh Stepanakert, and the region itself will essentially be cut off from Armenia, according to Meduza.io.Many political issues have also been raised, as well as the issue of the security of ethnic Armenians in the region, as Russian peacekeepers will only be present for five years. There is a possibility of extending the mission unless either side withdraws from the disputed territories within the next four and a half years. Also, for the first time in history, Baku received a dirt corridor to his western encla in the Autonomous Republic of Nahchivan.NEW TRILATERAL AGREEMENTUnder the agreement, Armenia will hand over not only the southern territories of Nagorno-Karabakh (which Azerbaijan reclaimed during the six-week war), but also two districts in the north that it has not lost in the conflict. These northern areas in the Soviet Union were not part of the region, but were taken by Armenians in 1993. Until then, ethnic Azerbaijani lived there, and the last 25 years have been sparsely populated.Armenian Karabakh still exists, but the borders have shrunk radically and there is no mention of political status anywhere.When Russia announced it would deploy peacekeepers to patrol the region's border, it was not clear what boundaries were being announced, however according to a map released by the Russian mission, the trilateral agreement is being used on old Soviet demarcation lines, meaning the Armenian withdrawal is not as drastic as it could have been, according to Meduza.io.Still, Armenian Karabakh managed to salvage less than a third of the territory it controlled before September, and the area is now guarded by about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers.After the agreement was announced, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev revealed that Baku plans to invite Turkish peacekeepers to participate in the ceasefire, although the Kremlin has shown a far more limited role for Ankara, stating that Turkey is sending observers, not peacekeepers, to monitor compliance with the ceasefire from a joint centre on Azerbaijani territory outside Karabakh.Still dominated by ethnic Armenians, the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh has no official status under the new framework and is losing its border with Armenia, while the entire District of Lacina will open from 1 January 2007. [The New York Times) first reported on The New York Times in 2013.Russian peacekeepers will guard the Lachin corridor to preserve Armenia's connection to Nagorno-Karabakh, and Baku has vowed not to interfere with the traffic of people on the aisle.Azerbaijan will thus effectively gain territory in Armenia, a corridor to its western encla, AR Nahchivan, which shares a small part of the border with Turkey, an ally of Baku, the Russians will guard the corridor through Armenia, but there are some major ambiguities, here's the thing:It is not known how the uncomproprised administration of the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh will continue to function as it has for the past quarter-century. The agreement says nothing about holding or cancelling the administration's operations, and it will be far harder for Yereman to support local government in Karabakh now that the region is separated from Armenia.And the future of the Karabakh army is in question because Armenia will find it harder to transfer military equipment through territory politically controlled by Baku.Three decades ago, ethnic Azerbaijani people made up the majority of the population in areas around the Karabakh region, including Shushi, which is now returning to Baku's control. The new agreement allows these people to return to the homes they have abandoned, but the fate of ethnic Azerbaijanis who have since seated in those cities is unresolved. Even Armenians within the borders of the unacquised republic of Karabakh could find themselves under pressure to leave.During the six-week war, many people fled Karabakh to Armenia, and the arrival of the Russians is unlikely to encourage them to return. There is an Azerbaijani army in the hills above Stepanakert- the vein that has biased the region with Armenia has been cut off and no one knows if Russian soldiers will be there in five years to protect residents from another attack. Despite the formal assurances under the agreement, many Azerbaijani refugees can also give up because of the uncertainty.The war has endangered sites such as the Dadivank monastery and the ruins of Tigranakert in karabakh districts, which will now return to Baku. Armenia recognises the sites as important remnants of cultural heritage and worries that Azerbaijan will destroy evidence of their long history there, something Baku denies. Meduza.io says satellite photos suggest Azerbaijani destroyed an ancient Armenian cemetery in Nahchivan.In four and a half years, Azerbaijan will be able to request the withdrawal of the Russian mission, allowing it to proceed with its official goal in the region -- ""the final solution to the Karabakh issue"". There are signs that Azerbaijan plans to stick to the agreed-upon mission and extend the mission for more than five years. Aliyev said he personally insisted on the dirt corridor to Nahchivan, which they had not had for three decades. Construction of a new road through the Lachin corridor also indicates a possible extension. The new passage will bypass Shushi, unlike the existing one that goes around the city.It is also possible that the leaders of the trilateral agreement countries - apart from Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan - will change their minds about Karabakh. By the time five years go by, some of them could be without power, Meduza.io.By openly helping Azerbaijan in the conflict, Turkey has strengthened its influence in the Caucasus and the region, showing itself to be an effective, determined ally. Some military experts say Ankara has demonstrated the feasibility of ""unfrooling"" the old conflict with the help of modern weapons and tactics that could have profound consequences throughout the former Soviet Union.The consequences of the six-week war are also a threat to Russian foreign policy in the region, where the Kremlin froze conflicts in exchange for military bases and peace zones. On the other hand, freezing the conflict and deploying peacekeepers is exactly what Moscow has achieved with the new agreement. By deploying the peacekeeping mission, Russia essentially built a military base on Azerbaijani soil.Unless there is a radical change, the Kremlin is likely to use every bit of influence it has over Baku to keep its mission in Karabakh beyond the agreed deadline. Despite close ties between Azerbaijan and Turkey, the need for good relations with Russia was enough to pressure Baku to end the offensive a few kilometres from Stepanakert.Europe and the US could work with Russia to keep the conflict frozen, preventing a humanitarian catastrophe among the remaining Armenians in Karabakh. France has already requested the resumption of international negotiations on the status of the region.In five years, the Meduza.io, it is even possible for Armenia to rebuild its army, which would make the price of a ""final solution"" for Karabakh too expensive for Baku.";A
RU;UN assessment mission in Nagorno-Karabakh; It has been reported that UN senior officials decided to send a comprehensive assessment mission to the area of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is understood that representatives of competent humanitarian agencies will take part in the mission in order to review the situation on the ground and assess the needs of those in distress. Preparations for and discussion of the parameters of this assessment mission are currently in progress. For our part, we consider it useful and necessary to intensify humanitarian assistance to all victims through competent international organisations, in coordination with the parties. Russian ministries and agencies began relevant efforts immediately after the adoption of the trilateral statement by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on November 9, 2020, the statement that made it possible to cease hostilities. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Sochi On December 29, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will pay a working visit to Sochi, Russia, at the invitation of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to attend the 8th meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group that functions within the framework of the High-Level Russian-Turkish Cooperation Council. On March 29, 2019, Antalya was the venue for the Council’s seventh meeting. The participants will review a wide range of topical regional and international matters. They will compare positions on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Ukraine and the Black Sea region. They will discuss ways of facilitating more effective cooperation at international organisations.There are plans to analyse current matters linked with implementing the November 9, 2020 Joint Statement by the Leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh. The participants will prioritise efforts to minimise risks of possible armed clashes and to provide the former belligerents with humanitarian relief.The participants will focus on streamlining the activities of the joint Russian-Turkish centre for monitoring the ceasefire and ending all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.;N
RU;As for Nagorno-Karabakh, we acted on a desire to put an end to the bloodshed. The conflicting parties – Armenia and Azerbaijan – expressed an interest in doing this with Russia’s mediation. We had no hidden agenda.;Incidentally, I do not remember our Iranian colleagues ever indicating their interest or raising the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh at the numerous consultations and talks we have held during my term as foreign minister of Russia.This does not mean that we have no regard for Iran’s interests. We are aware of Iran’s concern about the effect the normalisation of Azerbaijan-Armenia ties can have on its transit interests, which is becoming increasingly important considering that the Americans have adopted sanctions against Iran and continue to increase them. But we cannot abandon the main principle that has been generally upheld for many years: the outcome of the conflict must be the normalisation of relations throughout the region.The joint Statement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on November 9, 2020 sets out the main guidelines that are also present in the Iranian peace initiative made at the height of the conflict.There is no use talking about who and when managed or did not manage to bring about a settlement. I would like to emphasise again that the choice of the format was made by Azerbaijan and Armenia. It was this, and this alone that determined the format of the signatories to the statement. No attempts were made or could be made to attain this goal at the expense of Iran or Turkey. What we must think about now is what else can be done to ensure full implementation of the agreements and to turn the region from an area of confrontation into a region of coexistence, or better still, a region of neighbourly relations and cooperation.When President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Baku the other day, he made a statement in which he mentioned the possibility of cooperation between the three South Caucasus states – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – and their three neighbours – Iran, Turkey and Russia. This is obvious. We are all neighbours, and now that problems between the South Caucasus states are being settled we as their neighbours should contribute to this process.;A
RU;Question: Russia has opened the way to peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In Russia as well as in Azerbaijan, these words are also heard, and they like to cite the example of two peoples living together in the past in different historical periods, including during the Soviet era. There are good examples of this harmony, when people living in Baku, for example, were not divided by nationality. What is the key to the success of peaceful coexistence and interaction between the two peoples? How can the historical stress experienced by the people be overcome? How do you see the life of Azerbaijani and Armenian people as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement?;Maria Zakharova: Many things are included in your question. There is positive historical experience of the two nations living together – the Azerbaijani and Armenians – both on the territory of Azerbaijan and in Armenia: they worked together, made friends, and created families.Now, thanks to Russia’s mediation efforts, the bloodshed has been stopped, agreements have been reached on the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, and on unblocking transport and economic connections in the region. A humanitarian response centre has been established to assist Azerbaijan and Armenia in restoring civilian infrastructure and creating conditions for the normal life of their people. This creates real conditions for establishing a dialogue between the two peoples, and a dialogue is the only possible way to overcome the differences.With all the dissimilarities in the region, with all the deep differences between neighbours, it is necessary to look for ways to combine the interests of the parties. In our opinion, a greater focus should be placed on the implementation of various mutually beneficial options of synergy of trade, transport and energy capabilities in the region.There is no doubt that the agenda needs to include building up and consolidating contacts between businesspeople, scientists, and civil society representatives in general. One possible approach is mutual visits by journalists. I believe that this is a right step towards sustainable peace between the people of Azerbaijan and Armenia.But all this is only possible given the political will of the leaders of the states in question.;N
RU;Russia & Turkey disagree on how to solve the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, with Ankara preferring a military solution, says Kremlin;Moscow and Ankara are working together in Nagorno-Karabakh, but don't fully see eye-to-eye. In an exclusive interview with RT, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted the countries disagree on the use of military force.“Turkey has consistently taken the position to approve a military operation,” Peskov explained. “We seriously disagreed, and still disagree about this with our Turkish colleagues. But this does not prevent us from continuing close interaction at all levels, including at the highest level.”According to the spokesman, the good relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan means that the two nations can put aside their differences and come together to solve problems in the Caucasus.“Both Russia and Turkey are vitally interested in our region being stable, predictable, and peaceful,” Peskov said. “Interaction meets the interests of both Moscow and Ankara.”On September 27, the frozen Nagorno-Karabakh conflict suddenly erupted once again. The dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia is decades old, with both countries believing they have legitimate claims to the territory.Throughout the recent 6-week-long war, both Moscow and Ankara played an active role in trying to bring it to an end. On one side of the conflict, Armenia is allied to Russia, as both are part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On the other, Azerbaijan has a close relationship with its neighbor Turkey.On November 10, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of hostilities between Baku and Yerevan, in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the agreement, Armenia lost control of territory it previously controlled, and Russian peacekeepers have been deployed along the line of contact. There will be no Turkish ground troops in the region, but Ankara will take a role in monitoring the situation.;N
RU;Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s telephone conversation with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Ara Ayvazyan;On December 23, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Ara Ayvazyan.The foreign ministers discussed issues related to the implementation of the November 9 statement by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, as well as a number of topical items on the bilateral and international agenda.;N
RU;Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions at a joint news conference following talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ara Aivazian;On November 21, 2020, a Russian interagency delegation visited Yerevan upon the instructions of President of Russia Vladimir Putin. We held meetings with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and our colleagues from the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence and economic development agencies to discuss in detail the situation following the signing of the Joint Statement by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 9 this year, as well as tasks set to us in this connection in the interests of a full settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and in the context of promoting bilateral ties between Russia and Armenia.The Statement signed on November 9 created the necessary conditions for a lasting and fair settlement of the conflict in the interests of the Armenian and Azerbaijani people and stability in the South Caucasus.We are satisfied with the fact that the ceasefire has been complied with on the ground for nearly a month. Refugees are returning to their homes, and there has been progress in the exchange of prisoners and the dead and in the search for missing persons.  We would like these acute humanitarian issues to be settled as soon as possible. We have mapped out a number of steps towards this.We are grateful to our friends for a high assessment of the activities of the Russian peacekeeping force. Another priority apart from the humanitarian issues I mentioned is providing assistance to the restoration of the infrastructure, housing, normal life and the healthcare system.  The unblocking of the transport corridors and the entire range of economic ties, as stipulated in the November 9 Joint Statement, should play a positive role in revitalising the economy and restoring normal life in the region.We discussed the establishment of a Humanitarian Response Centre at the initiative of President Putin. We proposed making it an international agency with the participation of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The practical aspects of this initiative are being coordinated. Many Russian ministries and agencies will contribute to its implementation.We exchanged views on the involvement of the related international organisations in the post-conflict rehabilitation of the region. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been working there for many years, since the mid-1990s. It has its representatives in Yerevan, Baku and Stepanakert. The ICRC group in the region will be increased, as ICRC President Peter Maurer told us during his recent visit to Moscow. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and UNESCO have shown interest in the matter as well.UNESCO is concerned about the preservation of world cultural heritage sites. This is also in the interests of Armenia. Russia supports this approach.Our goal is to ensure that the restoration of the economy, infrastructure, healthcare and life support systems helps to create conditions for the development of neighbourly ties between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, both in Nagorno-Karabakh and at the interstate level. This would help build up the atmosphere of trust and cooperation in the region to the benefit of local people and countries.Question: Could you outline the main objectives and fields of interaction of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in light of the Statement signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the President of the Russian Federation on November 9 and the Joint Statement by the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries signed on December 3?Sergey Lavrov: The OSCE Minsk Group and its co-chairs Russia, the United States and France (it was initially co-chaired by Russia and the United States: France joined it later at Paris’ request) have accomplished a great deal over the past few years. In particular, they have drafted and coordinated – in general, though not in detail – the basic principles of a settlement with the parties. These principles were used as the basis of the agreement sealed in the November 9 Statement by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.  I am referring to the transfer of five districts to Azerbaijan, to be followed by the transfer of two more districts, as well as the deployment of peacekeepers to ensure security in the region, the establishment of the Lachin Corridor between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, and the unblocking of all types of transport and economic ties and communications. All these objectives have been formalised in the November 9 Statement and are being implemented very effectively.Question: In your opinion, how effective is the level of cooperation between the Interdepartmental Humanitarian Response Centre and the local authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of creating favourable conditions for resuming normal life as soon as possible?Sergey Lavrov: Peacekeepers and the Interdepartmental Humanitarian Response Centre are actively cooperating with the local population. Since the very first minutes following their return, the peacekeepers and rescue workers from the Russian Emergencies Ministry have been assisting the people who are returning to the area. This process is now becoming sustainable. People are becoming more confident about the current situation. We will promote this attitude in every way. Current talks on turning the Interdepartmental Humanitarian Response Centre into an international centre that would involve Armenia and Azerbaijan facilitate this process. The concerned agencies are also discussing the relevant documents.The ongoing efforts on the details of the existing agreements include work on the legal aspects of Russian peacekeepers’ zone of responsibility. They are stationed in this zone under the November 9 Statement. The peacekeepers maintain security, create favourable conditions for the return of refugees, help solve humanitarian matters and facilitate normal life.The process is heading in the right direction, as agreed by the parties to the conflict and the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. We believe that the most important thing is to provide all-round support for the three leaders’ Statement of November 9, 2020. On December 3, 2020, members of the OSCE Ministerial Council held a meeting via videoconference. The three co-chairs, at the level of foreign ministers, praised the November 9 Statement and supported its implementation.Among the tasks that need to be addressed and on which the co-chairs could use their weight and authority I will note the involvement of international organisations. It is very important to chart correct parameters of such cooperation. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been working there for a long time. On the other hand, UN agencies that have a presence in Armenia and Azerbaijan, have never worked in Nagorno-Karabakh. Now, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is preparing a fact-finding mission. This will take some time, but bureaucracy is bureaucracy. The mission is to involve representatives of specialised agencies and programmes of the UN Family who will travel to the region in mid-December. We would like these missions to focus on providing specific and detailed assistance to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in the most pressing areas, including the restoration of the essential infrastructure and housing, and the resolution of other humanitarian matters.The co-chairs could also focus on the subject of preserving religious sites and cultural landmarks in Nagorno-Karabakh. There are plans to allocate special UNESCO resources for this purpose. This organisation is also preparing its own fact-finding mission.As a co-chair country and acting together with our French and US colleagues, we would like to encourage international organisations to ensure progress in these areas. The preservation and protection of cultural heritage and religious sites has special significance. As a country that is home to the UNESCO Headquarters, France can play a special role in this respect. I believe that the United States can also facilitate this process.Question: The November 9 agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh were obviously a temporary step on the way to a settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Are more substantive discussions on this score planned in the near future, at the level of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan or at the highest level? When will it be possible to hold such meetings?Sergey Lavrov: I said in my opening remarks that efforts to bring life in that region back to normal, so that all the national, ethnic and religious groups are satisfied, are an important part of a sustainable long-term settlement. This means a neighbourly coexistence of Armenians, Azerbaijanis and other peoples living in the region. This is our agenda and we will welcome any steps that the parties will be ready to take in this direction. We will encourage them to do this. As to the possible timeframe for direct contacts between Baku and Yerevan, including at the highest level, that will be up to our Azerbaijani and Armenian colleagues.;A
RU;Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, December 16, 2020;Question: Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to an exchange of prisoners based on the all-for-all principle, and this exchange took place with the mediation of Russian peacekeepers. Can this process be considered complete or is it still underway?Maria Zakharova:  Yesterday, the commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov, spoke in detail about the all-for-all prisoner exchange between Baku and Yerevan. “In accordance with the trilateral statement by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia of November 9 of this year, an all-for-all prisoner exchange took place. This was preceded by extensive preparatory work carried out by Russian peacekeeping forces with the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides. Twelve people were brought to Baku by the airplane of the Russian aerospace forces and handed over to representatives of the Azerbaijani competent authorities. The Azerbaijani side returned 44 prisoners, who arrived at the Erebuni Airport. Russian peacekeepers will continue to contribute to the strict implementation of the trilateral agreement.”on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement in the post-conflict period? What tasks will the Group solve at the moment and in the future, given that it was Russia that contributed to the resolution of the conflict? Wouldn’t it be more effective for the three countries – Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia – to solve the emerging issues? Is it any good seeing the work of the Minsk Group as trying to implement the trilateral leaders’ statement of November 9 of this year? Perhaps it could better contribute to addressing the issues that could be resolved later within the framework of this statement? In particular, this was recorded in the statement of the heads of delegations of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries on December 3 of this year following the Ministerial Council in Tirana. It was noted that Azerbaijan and Armenia will have to work out a long-term and sustainable peace agreement and resolve all remaining issues. What specific tasks does the Minsk Group face in this regard?Maria Zakharova:   I would like to recommend contacting the OSCE Minsk Group.Given the scope of the statement adopted on November 9 by the leaders of the three states, at this stage, the process of its implementation is underway, on the one hand. On the other hand, the adjustment of all international bodies and organisations is underway that should resolve issues within their powers and competence.Time is needed to coordinate and institutionalise these processes. That’s what everyone is working on at the moment. The region is facing a great number of problems. They relate to completely different areas: humanitarian issues, the return of refugees, protection of cultural sites, security, mine clearance, and a lot more. At this stage, the process of fine tuning each aspect of the settlement in all their complexity is underway.It should be understood that the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as other international entities and intermediary organisations (for example, the ICRC), which can play a role in a full-scale settlement, are currently engaged in determining the areas of focus and steps that should be taken.Question: On December 12-13, the Azerbaijani army broke the ceasefire in the western part of the Hadrut District. There are wounded on the Armenian side. Isn’t this outbreak aimed at discrediting Russia’s peacekeeping mission, thus questioning the trilateral statement?Maria Zakharova: Russia is doing everything in its power to achieve lasting and strong peace in the region. We proceed from the fact that both sides in the conflict share the same goals.Question: As part of their regional visit, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group arrived in Baku on December 12. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said he had not invited them. Does his harsh tone mean that Azerbaijan is trying to discredit the OSCE Minsk Group? Why did Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Popov not go?Maria Zakharova: Questions about Azerbaijan’s actions should be addressed to Baku.Russia was represented in Yerevan and Baku by its Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov and Acting Charge d’Affaires in Armenia Alexander Sinegubov. I don’t think I should go into detail as to why the Russian delegation was comprised like this. There were reasons for this but no conspiracy at all. Don’t look for deep political subtext there.Back to topQuestion: Vice-Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Adil Aliyev said the Russian peacekeepers had no right to protect the villages that Turkish-Azerbaijani troops had tried to seize the day before. “Russia has no right to interfere with the Azeri special services’ antiterrorist operation in Nagorno-Karabakh and will suffer significant losses together with Armenia,” he posted on his Facebook account. Can you comment on these statements?Maria Zakharova: We have offered our commentaries many times in the context of other statements by different political figures. We proceed from the assumption that all the statements made by parties to the conflict (although I would prefer calling them parties to the settlement process) and other regional and outside players should be aimed at achieving the main goal: lasting peace and a comprehensive settlement. Each and every statement should be viewed in terms of what benefit it can bring or what harm it can do.A lot of important and very difficult work has been done, and every word must be weighed to understand why it is being uttered.Everything regarding specific details: authority, situation on the ground, practical duties, and areas of responsibility – all these issues can and must be addressed by the sides on the operating level. We stay in touch with both Baku and Yerevan via existing channels. All issues must be address in this manner.;E
SE;Armenia must withdraw its troops;Reply from Sweden's young Azerbaijanis about the conflict in Nagorno-KarabakhReplica. You state that Azerbaijan is a dictatorship. However, Azerbaijan's current statehood has nothing to do with the ongoing conflict.Armenia went on the offensive back in July, north of the conflict zone to strike at the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which transports oil to Europe.Azerbaijan's economy is dependent on oil exports, and the attack led to tensions rising and resulting in war in late September. There is national consensus over Azerbajdzan's struggle to repel Armenia's aggression. All political parties have united behind the country's stance. The peace that now prevails can be compared to the situation in Sweden when all parties stood united behind the crackdown in the fight against covid at the beginning of the year.You also write that Turkey supports Azerbaijan and brings terrorists from Syria. Turkey, of course, supports Azerbajzdjan's struggle, but not a single Turkish soldier is currently fighting in Azerbaijan. Syrian terrorists are entirely the product of Armenian propaganda, and there has been no evidence to the contrary.What is not mentioned in the article is that Armenia receives free arms and political support from Russia, not to mention the support of the well-off Armenian diaspora in the United States and France. There is also evidence that the citizens of other countries are fighting on armenia's side.The most important thing that you are silent about, however, is that the fighting continues entirely on azerbaijan's internationally recognised territory. The THIRD UN resolution calls for Armenia to immediately withdraw its troops from there.In the 1990s, Armenia expelled all Azerbaijanis who lived there. My family, too, was forced to flee Kelbadjar, one of the 7 districts around Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia and where Azerbaijanis were the majority. For 27 years, I've been dying to see my home area again.Among those displaced were also many Kurds. In total, nearly 800 000 people were displaced from the area.We want to return the refugees home so that Azerbaijanis and Armenians can live side by side again.Mahira Mukhtarova, spokesperson for SUAZ (Sweden's young Azerbaijanis);A
SE;Nagorno-Karabakh fighting despite agreement;The ceasefire in the conflict over the Caucasian splinter region of Nagorno-Karabakh was short-lived.Both the Armenian and The Azeri side accuse each other of attacks.In the Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh, 37 soldiers were killed on Sunday, according to Russian news agency Interfax.Azerbaijan did not give any death toll.Armenia, which supports Nagorno-Karabakh in the conflict, and Azerbaijan, to which the breakaway region formally belongs, agreed a ceasefire at midnight on Sunday. The announcement came after a fragile ceasefire under mediation by Russia collapsed.At least 36 civilians have been killed on the Armenian side, while 60 have been killed on the Azeri side since fighting flared up on September 27, according to the respective parties.On the Armenian side, 673 soldiers have been killed, according to the breakaway region's official figures. The Azeri side has not presented any official statistics on soldiers killed.;N
SE;EU investigates war crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh;"The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has intensified in Nagorno-Karabakh.Now the Council of Europe says it has launched an investigation into suspected war crimes – after two videos appearing to show an execution were published on the internet, according to the BBC.In the first video, Azeri troops are seen capturing two people who look like they are dressed in Armenian military uniforms. In the second clip, the two men are shot in the head while having their hands behind their backs.Armenian authorities say they have identified the two men, but Azerbaijan denies the information, calling the clips a provocation.However, the BBC has managed to verify that the man giving command of the shooting speaks with a local Azeridialect. And they have also managed to find several indications that the clips were recorded in Hadrut in southern Nagorno-Karabakh.""Hollywood gives a bad reflection""On the internet, many people questioned the authenticity of the videos as there is not much blood when the men are shot.But military experts say the amount of blood is consistent with real shootings.""Hollywood gives a bad reflection of what gunshot wounds look like,"" Rob Lee, an expert in war studies at Kings College in London, told the BBC.Several clips questionedMany images and videos are circulating online that claim to show war crimes from Nagorno-Karabakh, but the BBC has only been able to verify the contents of the two clips from Hadrut.In some cases, these should be events from other locations. Among other things, a video clip has been circulated on the Telegram app that claims to show How Azeri prisoners are shot dead by Armenian troops.However, this clip is supposed to be from 2013 and recorded in Russia, according to the BBC.";N
SK;State of war in Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan launches counter-offensive, mobilization in Armenia;"Armenian authorities say they shot down two Azerbaijani helicopters and three battle drones and hit three enemy tanks, in response to attacks by the Azerbaijani side that began around 6 a.m. CET.Shortly afterwards, a state of war and general mobilization in the country was also declared by the Armenian government in Yerevan, reports the British BBC.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on citizens to be ready to defend their homeland. ""Let us firmly support our country, our army (...) and we will win. Long live the famous Armenian army!"" he wrote on Facebook, according to AFP.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also took the floor, promising victory in a fight against Armenian and separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakh in today's televised address.""The Azerbaijani army is fighting on its territory today, defending its territorial integrity, inflicting devastating blows on the enemy. We are fighting for a just cause and we will win,"" he said, according to AFP.Later, Azerbaijan also declared a state of war throughout the country. The measure was adopted by the parliament in the capital Baku at an extraordinary session, and the decision was also confirmed by President Aliyev. The state of war will take effect at midnight (at 10 pm CET), and curfews will be introduced in several regions, Azertac said.Both sides accuse each other of clashes. The Armenian Prime Minister wrote on Facebook that the clashes were started by the Azerbaijani side. A spokeswoman for the Armenian Defense Ministry also attributed full responsibility for the clashes to Azerbaijan's military-political leadership.EU and Council of Europe to end the conflictEuropean Council President Charles Michel called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the conflict immediately and return to negotiations. The Council of Europe and Paris also called for an end to the conflict and a peaceful solution to the conflict.Reports of hostilities from Nagorno-Karabakh are very worrying, Michel said on Twitter. In order to prevent further escalation of hostilities, military operations must be stopped immediately. ""The only way out is to return to unconditional negotiations,"" Michel added.Armenia and Azerbaijan should take responsibility and show restraint, Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric said in response to the conflict, calling for an immediate end to the conflict.""Upon accession to the Council of Europe, both countries have committed themselves to resolving the conflict peacefully, and these commitments must be strictly adhered to,"" she said. She also called on both sides to do everything in their power to protect human lives.The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in Baku that it had launched an offensive along the border to ""end the military activities of the Armenian Armed Forces and ensure the security of the civilian population."" In doing so, they confirmed that one of their helicopters had been shot down, but the crew is safe.Janša worriedSlovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša also responded to the event on Twitter. He expressed deep concern over the military clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh. As he wrote, the cessation of hostilities, the de-escalation of tensions and the resumption of negotiations are urgently needed. He attributed the key to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe).Moscow is calling for an end to the fightingRussia's foreign ministry today called on both sides to end the fighting immediately and start talks on stabilizing the situation, Moscow reported, the Russian news agency Tass reported.In a telephone conversation with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnakakanyan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed Moscow's readiness to mediate between the conflicting parties, the foreign ministry said.";N
SK;Energy;Gas and peace in Caucasus: After visiting Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a peaceful solution to the long-lasting dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, also because of new energy prospects for Europe in the South Caucasus. (front page, 6);N
SK;Delo says Russia main winner of Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire;Ljubljana, 12 November - Delo says in Thursday's commentary that the main winner of the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh is Russia, which has managed, as usual, to eventually calm down the tensions in the Caucasus. But the paper also thinks that the Russian forces in the region are there to stay as problems are far from being solved.;N
SK;Review;President Borut Pahor discussed with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres via a video call the latest escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the situation in the Western Balkans and the Covid-19 pandemic. He pledged full support for the secretary general's efforts for the tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh to calm down.;N
SK;Pahor and Guterres discuss Nagorno-Karabakh;President Borut Pahor discussed with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres via a video call the latest escalation of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh, the situation in the Western Balkans and the Covid-19 pandemic. He pledged full support for the secretary general's efforts for the tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh to calm down and the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be solved peacefully. He also invited Guterres to attend one of the future summits of the Brdo-Brioni process, and once again pledged Slovenia's full support for multilateralism and the country's willingness to continue to closely work with the UN.;N
SM;Great and General Council: work on Wednesday 27 October 2020;I present the agenda signed by all the council groups regarding the situation of Nagorno-Karabakh. 'The Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, which exploded dramatically again last September 27 and latent since 1992, is taking on the characteristics of a real humanitarian emergency, the ongoing war is producing incalculable damage, taking on the dimensions of a drama at the expense of civilians that aims to shift geopolitical balances, putting their hands on a strategically relevant area for energy supplies. In consideration of the serious humanitarian situation generated and of the populations who are experiencing the exodus to escape from conflicts generated,the Great and General Council invites the Government to act as interpreter to the United Nations and international organizations of a clear position of the Republic of San Marino in requesting an immediate ceasefire and the start of a negotiation that can guarantee the safety of the population '.;N
SM;Great and General Council: work on Wednesday 27 October 2020;I present the agenda signed by all the council groups regarding the situation of Nagorno-Karabakh. 'The Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, which exploded dramatically again last September 27 and latent since 1992, is taking on the characteristics of a real humanitarian emergency, the ongoing war is producing incalculable damage, taking on the dimensions of a drama at the expense of civilians that aims to shift geopolitical balances, putting their hands on a strategically relevant area for energy supplies. In consideration of the serious humanitarian situation generated and of the populations who are experiencing the exodus to escape from conflicts generated,the Great and General Council invites the Government to act as interpreter to the United Nations and international organizations of a clear position of the Republic of San Marino in requesting an immediate ceasefire and the start of a negotiation that can guarantee the safety of the population '. .;N
SM;'Cease fire' in Nagorno-Karabakh: Baku rejoices, riots in Yerevan;"Russian President Vladimir Putin 'blessed' the ceasefire agreement, who this night began to deploy a peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh simultaneously with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces. In Azerbaijan scenes of jubilation with President Ilham Aliyev who commented saying that the agreement is equivalent to an Armenian capitulation.For the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan it is a ""painful understanding"" dictated by the desire to put an end to the fighting. Shortly after the announcement of the ceasefire, an angry mob invaded the Armenian government headquarters in Yerevan, looting and vandalizing the offices. Also attacked by protesters opposed to the agreement. A ceasefire that, from the very first hours, appears fragile despite having reached agreement between Russia and Turkey, under whose influence the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenians and Azeris has been consumed over the years.";A
SW;Burkhalter proposes Azerbaijan–Armenia meeting;Burkhalter, who is serving this year as chairman of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, called for a structured process to negotiate a peace agreement and for consistent implementation of measures ensuring compliance with a 1994 ceasefire.“We must progress step by step towards peace”, he said in his capacity as OSCE Chairperson-in Office.The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the main item discussed by Burkhalter and the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in the capital Baku on Monday.Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh between 1988 and 1994, killing tens of thousands of people and forcing hundreds of thousands out of their homes. A cease-fire was negotiated in 1994.“Violent incidents 20 years after the ceasefire are unacceptable to the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship,” Burkhalter said, stressing that the organisation was ready and willing to support both sides in their commitment, if desired.In January, while speaking to OSCE members in Vienna, Burkhalter highlighted promotion of security and stability as one of the three main goals of the Swiss chairmanship.Burkhalter is not the first Swiss cabinet member to search for a solution to the conflict. In 2006, in the first-ever visit of a Swiss cabinet minister to Armenia, his predecessor Micheline Calmy-Rey offered Switzerland’s help in mediating between the two sides.;N
SW;Burkhalter proposes Azerbaijan–Armenia meeting;Burkhalter, who is serving this year as chairman of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, called for a structured process to negotiate a peace agreement and for consistent implementation of measures ensuring compliance with a 1994 ceasefire.“We must progress step by step towards peace”, he said in his capacity as OSCE Chairperson-in Office.The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the main item discussed by Burkhalter and the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in the capital Baku on Monday.Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh between 1988 and 1994, killing tens of thousands of people and forcing hundreds of thousands out of their homes. A cease-fire was negotiated in 1994.“Violent incidents 20 years after the ceasefire are unacceptable to the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship,” Burkhalter said, stressing that the organisation was ready and willing to support both sides in their commitment, if desired.In January, while speaking to OSCE members in Vienna, Burkhalter highlighted promotion of security and stability as one of the three main goals of the Swiss chairmanship.Burkhalter is not the first Swiss cabinet member to search for a solution to the conflict. In 2006, in the first-ever visit of a Swiss cabinet minister to Armenia, his predecessor Micheline Calmy-Rey offered Switzerland’s help in mediating between the two sides.;N
SW;What’s the chance for diplomacy in Nagorno-Karabakh?;"Since September 27, fighting between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the Nagorno-Karabakh region has intensified. It is the rekindling of an old conflict in which diplomatic efforts, including those of Switzerland, have never led to a settlement.This is the most serious violation of a 1994 ceasefire that followed a six-year war between the two sides. The number of dead and wounded is hard to know, as is the number of civilians fleeing the fighting. But the casualties are in the hundreds.  ""We can already see the terrible impact that this escalation of the conflict is having on the civilian population,"" said Gerardo Moloeznik on October 2. He is the head of a sub-delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross located in Barda, Azerbaijan. The Geneva-headquartered ICRC warns that large numbers of people fleeing the conflict are likely, in addition, to fuel the spread of Covid-19 as winter approaches. Ceasefire calls unheededThe numerous calls to stop the fighting – whether from the UN Security Council, OSCE, Moscow, Paris, Washington or Bern – have so far failed to curb military escalation.   “The multilateral system and the big powers are realising once again that diplomacy has its limits,” says Keith Krause, director of the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. For its part, Switzerland has said it is ""ready to host meetings at the highest level” and that “the parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international law, particularly international humanitarian law, and resume peace negotiations without conditions,"" according to foreign ministry spokesman Georg Farago.  An unresolved conflict The antagonism between Armenians and Azerbaijanis goes back a long way. The end of the First World War – marked in the region by the Armenian genocide perpetrated by Ottoman Turkey – allowed them to establish in 1918 two states on the ruins of the Russian Empire. Then incorporated into the Soviet Union, their territorial claims were frozen by Moscow. However, the claims of both sides were reborn in 1988 in the Soviet Union’s dying days with the first phase of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region with an Armenian majority that declared independence in 1991. A ceasefire put an end to military operations in 1994, but periodic clashes have continued along the demarcation line.    ""At the time of the break-up of the USSR, both Armenia and Azerbaijan formally committed themselves to respect the existing borders,"" says Marcelo Kohen, professor of international law at the Graduate Institute. “Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomous region within Azerbaijan. And no member of the United Nations recognised its independence.""  This is far from the only conflict troubling the former Soviet republics, Kohen says. He points to the examples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia having declared independence from Georgia, Transnistria from the Republic of Moldova, the Crimea’s separation from Ukraine, and Donetsk and Luhansk declaring independence from Ukraine. ""In none of these situations has the principle of peoples’ right to self-determination been recognised for existing national minorities within the States concerned – even though these States have an obligation to respect the rights of minorities.""  The result was a series of conflicts where numerous world powers got involved.  Regional powers complicate the pictureWhile  United States and European Union meddling in former Soviet states has often been denounced, including in Western media, they are not the only ones practising double standards, according to Kohen.  ""Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan but violates this same principle in the Republic of Cyprus, supporting the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” he says. “Some Western political leaders call loud and clear for the respect of the territorial integrity of Ukraine but have ignored it in relation to Serbia in Kosovo. Russia has defended it for Serbia but ignored it for Ukraine.""  Krause says that Turkey’s appearance on the scene and its increasingly strong-arm diplomacy confirm a lasting trend where ""the regional powers have more room for manoeuvre than in the past to get involved in conflicts and increase their sphere of influence.""  This Turkish interventionism poses an additional problem for two institutions active in the region. ""One is the OSCE [Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe], which has so far failed to revive talks,” says political science professor Krause. “The other is NATO, of which Turkey is a member. With its offensive policy, we are approaching a breaking point within NATO.""  What chance for diplomacy?  So how can peace be achieved in Nagorno-Karabakh? Marcelo Kohen thinks the solution lies in withdrawal of foreign interference, and an end to hostilities. ""The OSCE is the appropriate framework for carrying out negotiations, as in the past,"" he says. Kohen also stresses the importance of respect for international humanitarian law, the territorial integrity of states, and the need to grant broad autonomy in Nagorno-Karabakh under international guarantee. Farago of the Swiss Foreign Ministry recalls the Zurich Protocols, an agreement signed by Ankara and Yerevan in 2009 to restore diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia and reopen the common border. ""To date, the Zurich Protocols are the only documents that contain concrete proposals for the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkey and that have been signed by representatives of the Armenian and Turkish governments,” he says. “However, ratification by the parliaments of Yerevan and Ankara has not yet taken place.""  A first meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh was held in Geneva on Thursday, under the auspices of the OSCE's Minsk group, co-presided by France, the US and Russia. And at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Poutine, the foreign affairs ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan began talks in Moscow on Friday on the separatist region.";N
SW;Swiss urge peace in Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict;Switzerland says it is concerned about ongoing violent clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan that have been intensifying since September 27.  “In the light of recent events, Switzerland calls on all parties to preserve regional stability and therefore end the use of force,” Bern said in a press release on Monday. It also urged both sides to “uphold their obligations under international law, in particular to protect the civilian population”.  “Substantive negotiations must be resumed immediately and without preconditions,” added the statement. “Switzerland fully supports the efforts of the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group towards a negotiated conflict solution and is ready to host meetings at the highest level, as has been done in the past.” The OSCE’s Minsk Group spearheads the regional organisation’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh territorial dispute, which is at the heart of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is co-chaired by France, Russia, and the United States. Nagorno-Karabakh is recognised as part of Azerbaijan but has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since a war ended in 1994.  Switzerland is an active promoter of peace in the region. It is supporting mediation efforts for the conflict in eastern Ukraine and has a mandate to represent the diplomatic interests of Russia in Georgia and vice-versa. Bern also recently upgraded its diplomatic presence in Belarus.  ;N
TR;New realities in Caucasus may lead to inclusive, efficient regional platform;" Experts New realities have emerged as a result of the recent Karabakh conflict and the following cease-fire deal can result in the formation of a more productive, efficient and cooperative regional platform. It will be beneficial for all actors in the Caucasus region while the Minsk group and its western co-chairs are being left out of the new equation, experts say. By the end of the 44-day armed conflict that started in late September, Azerbaijan recaptured many settlements in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding areas from the nearly three-decade occupation of Armenia. Turkey and Russia have also taken the role of peacekeepers by deploying troops to the region following the cease-fire deal signed on Nov. 10. Tutku Dilaver, an analyst at the Ankara-based Eurasian Studies Center (AVIM), said given the new realities in the Caucasus region, a more inclusive platform with the participation of regional actors rather than the existing Minsk Group would create much more positive results. ""Under the light of recent developments, it can be easily said the Minsk Group has been excluded from the process due to its failure to produce solutions or perspectives,"" she added. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the U.S., was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict but to no avail. While Azerbaijan won on the field, all regional actors can be counted as winners when analyzing from a wider perspective, Elnur Ismayil, a Caucasus expert, said while singling out Western countries as the losers. It was proven that most Western parties aimed to preserve the status quo in favor of Armenia, and the Minsk group's co-chairs, France and the U.S., were completely ineffective in creating a solution for the latest crisis, he explained. ""Disturbed by the involvement of the Western countries in the region, Russia favors Turkey's proposal that regional issues should be resolved by regional actors."" ""I think, the losers of this agreement are Armenia, Iran and the West while the winners of this agreement are Azerbaijan, Turkey and mostly Russia,"" said Ümit Nazmi Hazır, a political scientist at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Earlier this month during a visit to Azerbaijan's capital Baku, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed a six-country regional cooperation platform including Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia and Armenia, saying it could be a win-win initiative for all regional actors in the Caucasus. Another point Dilaver highlighted was that the West has lost its sphere of influence in Armenia due to the changing balances of power in the region. ""Within this context, Russia's worry that it had been surrounded by the West in the Caucasus has been relieved for a while. Going forward, the U.S. and France's place in the new format that will be established for a permanent peace deal is unclear. But we can say the necessity of the Minsk Group co-chairs was completely abolished after it became clear that France had lost its neutrality."" The Minsk Group was supposed to be neutral on the issue but Paris fiercely supported Yerevan during the conflict. Earlier this month, France's National Assembly approved a resolution calling on the government to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh under the control of separatist Armenian forces as a ""republic."" Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under Armenian occupation since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That conflict left the predominantly Armenian populated Nagorno-Karabakh region and substantial surrounding territories in Yerevan's hands. Heavy fighting erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan in late September in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict, killing more than 5,600 people on both sides. The Russia-brokered agreement ended the recent fighting in which the Azerbaijani army routed Armenia's forces. The cease-fire deal stipulated that Yerevan hand over some areas it held outside Nagorno-Karabakh's borders. Baku also retained control over the areas of Nagorno-Karabakh that it had taken during the armed conflict. Regional projects Another point that experts agreed on was the possibility of new opportunities for joint projects with the participation of all regional actors. Hazır said the new status quo paves the way for building relations with Armenia. ""Both Turkey and Azerbaijan can benefit from the normalization of their relations with Armenia. This also can change the status quo in favor of Turkey in the long-run. Moreover, it is important for Turkey to maintain good relations with Ukraine and Georgia to be more effective over Eurasia, even though some authors in Russia do not enjoy Turkey's improving relations with Ukraine,"" he said. Ismayıl also underlined that new realities in the region have opened the door for Armenia to join new regional and international projects in the following period. ""If they do not choose the wrong policies again, Armenia's reopening borders with Turkey in the near future can be an important development for the Armenian economy,"" he said. Like others, Dilaver highlighted future opportunities for joint regional projects that can be beneficial for all actors with the participation of Armenia. She warned, however, that such projects can be put into action in the long-term. Turkey's new role Regarding Turkey's role in the new equation, Dilaver added that these new developments would shape the new realpolitik in the region and Ankara will become an important actor by taking a major role in the establishment of a permanent peace thanks to its bilateral cooperations with both Russia and Azerbaijan. Turkey's recent proactive policies in the region led to positive results in the Karabakh conflict, Ismayil said, while underlining Ankara's diplomatic, military and psychological support to Azerbaijan since the beginning of the war. ""As you know, Turkey explicitly expressed its support for Azerbaijan as soon as the war began. This was important in terms of the rising motivation of the Azerbaijani nation and army. Turkey's attitude has brought Azerbaijan and Turkey closer. What's more, Turkey's support for Azerbaijan bears importance for Iranian Turks. Turkey is a historical and significant actor in the Caucasus,"" Hazır also said. Ankara-Moscow cooperation While Turkey expanded its role in the Caucasus, Russia will be its main partner for the implementation of stability and security in the region, experts say. Around 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh under the terms of the deal and are expected to stay in the region for at least five years. The Turkish Parliament also last month overwhelmingly approved the deployment of Turkish peacekeeping troops to Azerbaijan after Turkey and Russia signed an agreement for establishing a joint center to monitor the cease-fire in the region. The mandate allows Turkish forces to be stationed at a security center for one year. Azerbaijan has been pushing for its close ally Turkey to play a central role in the implementation of the agreement, as Ankara pledged full support for Baku during fighting in the region. Ismayil noted that the agreement between the Defense Ministries of Turkey and Russia determined the main functions of this center to jointly monitor the implementation of the Karabakh cease-fire deal. ""When we analyze the issue in-depth, it was said following the signing of the deal that the Russian and Turkish troops would come to the region as peacekeepers under equal circumstances, but this has not been put into practice yet. Turkey and Russia will also cooperate for the solution of other regional problems in addition to the Caucasus. This experience was expected to be applied in the Caucasus. During the period following the end of the war, this cooperation will evolve into different dimensions,"" he said. Regarding the cooperation between Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan in the region, Dilaver said it will open doors for other partnerships. ""A relationship based on realpolitik has been established between Russia and Turkey. As (Russia's President) Vladimir Putin stated, the two countries have the potential to have discussions at the negotiation table and take steps together, even though they do not share the same opinions on every issue. It can be said this cooperation platform is very important for the resolution of regional issues."" Turkey and Russia demonstrated they are capable of meeting on common ground and cooperating even in competing regions, Hazır said, adding: ""On the other hand, I would like to underline that since the Nagorno-Karabakh war began in 2020, many experts and authors in Russia's media have discussed Turkey's rising influence over the region by way of its good relations with Azerbaijan and Ukraine. They have argued that the rising influence of Turkey could undermine Russia's influence over the region in the long-run."" ""Now, Turkey and Russia are the most significant actors in Southern Caucasus. However, I'd like to underline that Russia is still a hegemonic power in the Caucasus. At his annual press conference this year, Putin underlined that the status of Karabakh should remain unchanged. This means that Russia does not want to change the current status-quo in Karabakh and Russian troops will remain in Karabakh for many years. Russia may want to stay permanently in Karabakh,"" he added. Ismayil also underlined the fact that although Russia seems to be in cooperation with Turkey, it also aims to use this opportunity for its own interests and Moscow is disturbed by the presence of Ankara as a rival actor in the region. ""Countries must determine their strategies accordingly. The fact that Turkey is an emerging power and Russia is a country facing more problems must also be remembered,"" he said.";N
TR;Turkey: Armenia to pay price if it violates Karabakh ceasefire;"2 DAYS AGOTurkey's Foreign Minister Cavusoglu says Turkey’s role will be the same as Russia’s in monitoring the latest ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh.Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that Armenia will ""pay the price"" if it violates the latest peace deal and ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan on the Upper Karabakh conflict. ""They [Armenian forces] should either leave the territory voluntarily by abiding the agreement, or the heroic Azerbaijani army will take those lands back as it did so far. There is no other choice,"" Cavusoglu said in a news conference on Thursday in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital.Azerbaijan is not ""keen to shed blood"" and was very patient for solving the conflict in peace, he said, adding, ""After that, the choice is on Armenia [to shed blood or solve it in peace].""READ MORE: Erdogan: Turkey, Russia to monitor Karabakh truceSpeaking on the establishment of the peacemaking centre to oversee the ceasefire on the Upper Karabakh territory, Cavusoglu said Turkey's role will be exactly the same as Russia's on the joint monitoring.A memorandum of understanding (MoU) setting up a joint Turkish-Russian centre to monitor the peace deal – which has ended weeks of armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia – was signed on Wednesday morning, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Milli Savunma Bakanımız, MİT Başkanımız ve Kara Kuvvetleri Komutanımız ile birlikte kardeş #Azerbaycan’ın Cenab Cumhurbaşkanı İlham Aliyev’i sahadaki ve masadaki zaferinden dolayı tebrik ettik. Her daim Can Azerbaycan’ın yanındayız! 🇹🇷🇦🇿 pic.twitter.com/vwwFX632OH— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) November 10, 2020""The conflict can be solved only by handing over all occupied lands to Azerbaijan,"" Cavusoglu said, adding that works on the status of Karabakh will continue in the upcoming period.He underlined that the ""only goal"" of the peace deal was the return of the occupied lands to Azerbaijan.""So far, the heroic Azerbaijani army has done what is required on the field, and now, through diplomacy, work is underway to return the occupied lands based on schedule.""READ MORE: Victors of the Karabakh war: Azerbaijan, Russia and TurkeyCavusoglu also stressed that France – a co-chair along with Russia and the US of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict – has no ""objective and balanced"" stance on the Upper Karabakh issue.""The Minsk trio must take a lesson from this process, especially France. Biased statements are being made even after the ceasefire [agreement],"" he said.'Great victory'Relations between the ex-Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognised as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.Fresh clashes had erupted on September 27, and the Armenian army continued its attacks on civilian and Azerbaijani forces, even violating humanitarian ceasefire agreements for 44 days.Baku liberated several cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from Armenian occupation during this time.Before the second Karabakh war, about 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.READ MORE: The unwritten rules governing Russia-Turkey brinkmanshipOn November 10, the two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end the fighting and work towards a comprehensive resolution.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed the agreement as a victory for his country and a defeat of Armenia, saying Baku's military success enabled it to gain an upper hand to end the three-decade-long occupation of its territory.Meanwhile, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he had signed an ""unspeakably painful"" deal that allowed Azerbaijan to claim control over regions it took back in the fighting.The Turkish leadership also welcomed the truce, terming it a ""great victory"" for Azerbaijan.";A
TR;Press Release Regarding the Ceasefire Between Azerbaijan and Armenia;A ceasefire has been declared between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the front line to take effect today at 12:00 local time.During the armed conflicts that started on 27 September 2020, Azerbaijan has shown Armenia and the whole world that it has the ability and the self confidence to reclaim its territories under occupation for nearly 30 years.In this process, calls for ceasefire were made from all over the world with humanitarian considerations. Consequently Azerbaijan gave Armenia a last opportunity to withdraw from the territories it has occupied.The ceasefire which was declared on humanitarian grounds for the exchange of prisoners of war and bodies, is an important first step, but cannot replace a lasting solution. Since the beginning, Turkey has always underlined that it would only support those solutions which were acceptable to Azerbaijan. With this understanding, Turkey will continue to stand by brotherly Azerbaijan on the ground and at the table.;A
TR;Press Release Regarding Armenia’s Anew Attack Today on Barda City of Azerbaijan;After yesterday's heinous attack, Armenia perpetrated yet another vicious and treacherous attack on civilians in the Azerbaijani city of Barda, outside the conflict zone. According to initial reports, 21 people lost their lives and more than 70 were wounded as a result of the attack.We wish Allah’s mercy upon our brothers and sisters who lost their lives, a speedy recovery to the wounded, and convey our condolences and wishes of fortitude to brotherly Azerbaijan.We condemn in the strongest possible terms Armenia’s vile attacks directed against the civilian population including children, the young and the elderly without discrimination. This vicious policy Armenia employs to terrorize and murder civilians is another manifestation of the sick mindset that was behind the Khojaly massacre.The Armenian administration, resorting to any means available to avoid withdrawing from the territories it occupied, acts without reason and conscience. This latest attack is registered as a shameful entry in the list of Armenia’s war crimes for which it will be held accountable.It is long overdue for the international community, particularly for the Minsk Group Co-chairs, to show the necessary reaction to Armenia.;A
TR;Armenia kills Azerbaijani civillians.;Armenia attacks and kills innocent Azerbaijani civillians in Azerbaijani soil. International community is silent.;A
TR;Armenia to pay price if it violates Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal, FM Çavuşoğlu says;"Armenia would have to suffer consequences if it does not abide by the terms of the cease-fire, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Thursday.Highlighting that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian signed the agreement, Çavuşoğlu told reporters in Baku that it is a binding document and that Armenia would pay a price if it violates the deal.""Azerbaijan is in favor of a peaceful solution but if Armenia insists on violating the agreement then it will have to bear the consequences,"" he said, noting that the fact that Baku signed the deal despite its military victories on the ground has proven that Azerbaijan is in favor of peace and that it only wants to retake its occupied territories.Turkey and Russia have come to an understanding to determine violations of the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace deal on Nagorno-Karabakh, Çavuşoğlu said.Çavuşoğlu said Ankara and Moscow will soon discuss details of the observation center that will be established to monitor violations of the cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh. He noted that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and manned aircraft will carry out surveillance missions over the area to ensure there are no violations.""We will stand beside Azerbaijan and support them however they would like us to,"" Çavuşoğlu said.The foreign minister also noted that Turkey hopes Armenia has learned its lesson to not attack other countries' territory.""The Minsk trio also needs to learn a lesson in this process,"" he added.Criticizing France for taking sides during the conflict, Çavuşoğlu said Paris has shown why co-chairs have not been able to solve the three-decade-long conflict.""France has not displayed an objective, balanced attitude. Despite Azerbaijan's positive stance, France has always continued to support Armenia and continues to maintain its negative stance after the cease-fire,"" he said.Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan.Fresh clashes erupted on Sept. 27, and the Armenian Army continued its attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces, even violating humanitarian cease-fire agreements, for 44 days.Baku liberated several cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from Armenian occupation during that time.On Nov. 10, the two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive solution for the conflict.Turkey has welcomed the truce, which is a result of Baku's military successes and has given it an upper hand over Yerevan to resolve the three-decade dispute.";A
TR;Press Release Regarding Armenia’s Attacks on Ganja City of Azerbaijan;Armenia’s attacks today, targeting the civilian population in Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, are a new manifestation of Armenia's disregard of law. We condemn these attacks. Facing defeat in the Azerbaijani territories it occupied, Armenia attacks the civilian settlements beyond the regions that are scene of armed confrontations because of its occupation, in violation of all principles of humanitarian law, first and foremost the Geneva Conventions. These attacks are an indication of the desperation of Armenia and that it will not shy away from committing crimes against humanity in order to continue its illegal occupation. As we have said since the beginning, Armenia is the biggest obstacle to peace and stability in the region.We support the stance of the Azerbaijani administration which has announced that it will not respond to Armenia’s provocations, that it is exercising its right of self-defense arising from international law within its internationally recognized borders and that it is making every possible effort to prevent harm to the civilian population.;A
TR;Press Release Regarding Armenia’s Attack on Barda City of Azerbaijan;Armenia’s ongoing attacks against civilian settlements outside the conflict zone in Azerbaijan despite the ceasefire announced yesterday (October 26) trample all universal humanitarian and moral values.Today at the evening, the attack by the Armenian armed forces on the city of Barda killed four civilians including a 2-year-old child and wounded 13 others. We wish Allah’s mercy upon our brothers and sisters who lost their lives, a speedy recovery to the wounded and convey our condolences to the people of Azerbaijan.We condemn in the strongest possible terms this heinous attack by Armenia and invite all countries with a conscience and responsibility to call on Armenia to stop the war crimes it continues to commit.Despite the fact that all three ceasefires declared to this day through the initiatives of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs were violated each time by Armenia, we find it noteworthy that the countries of the Co-Chairs did not give any reaction to these violations.;A
TR;Armenia attacks Azerbaijani civillians.;Armenians are attacking the Azerbaijani villages near Azerbaijan-Armenia border. As Turkey, we are supporting our bretheren Azerbaijan and his rightful cause.;A
TR;Azerbaijan’s campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh: Big victory and big lessons;Azerbaijan gets to keep military gains, regional geopolitics shift and cooperation gets a boost.In the wee hours of November 10, 2020, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced via Facebook that he signed an agreement to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh with immediate effect. Both sides will keep their current territorial locations as part of the accord, which means Azerbaijan will preserve the military gains it has accomplished since the beginning of the conflict. At the same time, Armenia will return other occupied territories it currently controls. This process will take place in phases over the next month.The recent capture of Shusha by Azerbaijan’s army made the fall of the region’s capital, Stepanakert, inevitable, thus forcing Armenia to accept the terms of the ceasefire. This deal is a successful outcome for Azerbaijan as it retrieved large chunks of its territories illegally occupied by Armenia for three decades. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said the agreement was of “historic importance,” and amounted to a “capitulation” by Armenia. Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu was quick to congratulate Azerbaijan’s leadership via Twitter: “The brotherly Azerbaijan has achieved an important gain on the battleground and [negotiating] table. I sincerely congratulate this sacred success.” The Karabakh conflict evolved from communal unrest in 1988-1990 and small-scale civil war involving rag-tag militias and irregular units in 1991 to an all-out war between two newly established states in 1992-1994. Since Baku inherited an underfunded and dispirited military force from the Soviet Era, it was not able to stop Armenia’s aggression. Such a defeat and the subsequent loss of territories left a deep wound in Azerbaijan’s common consciousness. Without addressing this wrong, Azerbaijan’s state identity was always deemed incomplete. Also, Baku dealt with a massive humanitarian catastrophe as hundreds of thousands of displaced persons moved from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts to Azerbaijan.Fast forward three decades later, and Baku has upped its game on several levels. Diplomatically, President Ilham Aliyev enhanced relations with Turkey significantly, and the two governments developed a remarkable synergy. Aliyev also maintained a good relationship with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Aliyev did not try to upset the Kremlin and understood Moscow’s red lines in the region. In the Karabakh conflict, Aliyev tried the diplomatic route for a long time and was open to compromise.In contrast, Armenia’s Prime Minister, Pashinyan irked the Kremlin by attempting to insert pro-Western elements within Armenia’s bureaucracy and security services. His administration also opened criminal cases against Russian companies. Moreover, Pashinyan multiplied the provocations and declared his inclination to annex the occupied territories, thereby dashing hopes for a negotiated settlement and paving the way for military escalation. Militarily, Turkey helped Azerbaijan modernise its army. The Turkish army trained the Azerbaijani army, supplied Baku with some of the latest equipment in terms of electronic warfare and armed drones, and helped design an efficient strategy that neutralised Armenia’s arsenal of armoured, mechanised, and motorised formations. As a result, Azerbaijan’s armed forces had the upper hand over the battlespace. Armenia targeted Azerbaijan’s population centres with ballistic missiles to provoke retaliation, which would then trigger a direct Russian involvement as per the agreements signed between Moscow and Yerevan. However, Baku remained focused on the Karabakh operations, thus neutralising any possible Russian direct intervention. Furthermore, the fact that military operations began and ended during the peak of the US elections was a masterstroke as it prevented the potential involvement of the upcoming US administration in this conflict.From a geopolitical standpoint, Azerbaijan’s victory in this war holds several lessons. First, it reflects Turkey’s growing importance on the world stage. In the past few years, Turkey’s allies have benefited from Ankara’s assertive policies. Qatar in 2017, Libya in 2019 and Azerbaijan in 2020 all opted for Ankara as an ally. This move has come with tangible benefits for the nations concerned, allowing them to turn deeply critical situations into a more stable environment conducive for peace. Second, France has been involved in the political process mediated by the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). This platform was highly inefficient and did little to bring peace between both parties. The apathy of the Minsk Group was not just unfair but also prejudicial to Azerbaijan although international law is entirely in favour of the Aliyev government. Even when it became clear that the frozen conflict in Karabakh was about to erupt, France did nothing to bring Armenia back to the negotiating table. On the contrary, Paris supported the aggressive policies of the Armenian government, as French President Emmanuel Macron was hoping to keep Azerbaijan and Turkey at bay. Therefore, Azerbaijan’s victory is an additional failure for Macron, who once more engaged in petty politicking at the expense of international law.Third, Azerbaijan’s victory opens the door for more interregional cooperation. For example, the opening of a land corridor connecting Turkey to Azerbaijan could enable more economic and cultural exchanges with other Turkic countries, namely Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. All in all, this is a big victory for Azerbaijan. It will certainly be written in golden letters in the history of the country. However, there are some challenges ahead. Many terms of the ceasefire agreement are related to Armenia’s implementation of these clauses. Given Yerevan’s lack of compliance history and popular resentment against Pashinyan’s regime, Baku must remain alert.;A
TR;Azerbaijan, Armenia exchange bodies of soldiers;"Azerbaijan receives bodies of 6 Azerbaijani martyrs, says Defense MinistryBAKU Azerbaijan and Armenia on Saturday exchanged the bodies of soldiers, who died in the clashes around the city of Susha in Upper Karabakh region, the Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said.In a statement, the ministry said the bodies of soldiers were collected through the intermediary and participation of the Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.""As part of this humanitarian action, the bodies of the dead servicemen of the Armenian armed forces were collected and handed over to the Armenian side,"" said the statement.""Also, within the framework of this action, the bodies of six servicemen of the Azerbaijan Army, who became Shehids (martyrs) during the battles around the Shusha city, were received.""The statement also expressed gratitude to Russia’s Defense Ministry and Sergei Shiogu, the Russian defense minister, for organizing the humanitarian action.Relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.Fresh clashes erupted on Sept. 27, and the Armenian army continued its attacks on civilian and Azerbaijani forces, even violating humanitarian cease-fire agreements for 44 days.Baku liberated several cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from Armenian occupation during this time.On Nov. 10, the two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end the fighting and work towards a comprehensive resolution.​​​​​​​Turkey welcomed the truce, terming it a ""great victory"" for Azerbaijan.";A
TR;Protesters in Armenia demand Pashinyan's resignation over Karabakh deal;"Police arrest several protesters in the Armenian capital Yerevan as people seek PM Nikol Pashinyan's resignation over a ceasefire deal that ended fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.Armenian police have arrested demonstrators in the capital Yerevan as anger mounted over Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's decision to sign a ceasefire deal with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.Hundreds of protesters gathered in central Yerevan on Wednesday shouting ""Nikol the traitor,"" adding that police had detained demonstrators including high-profile opposition figure Gagik Tsarukyan.Street rallies are banned under martial law imposed by Armenia because of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated and, until recently, fully controlled by Armenian forces.Seventeen political parties scheduled the rally after calling on Pashinyan to quit on Tuesday over the terms of the ceasefire deal, which froze territorial gains made by Azerbaijani forces in fighting that broke out on September 27.Among those arrested were Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, according to a Facebook post by Hripsime Arakelian, a member of his party.";A
TR;Statement of the Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hami Aksoy, to a Question Regarding the Ceasefire Declared Today Between Azerbaijan and Armenia and Its Violation;The ceasefires declared on October 10 and October 18 after the clashes that started following the attack of Armenia against Azerbaijan, were breached by Armenia in a short time. Lastly, as a result of the initiatives of the USA, today a ceasefire was declared again for the exchange of prisoners of war and remains of soldiers. Unfortunately, this last ceasefire was also violated by Armenia within minutes, and Armenia continued its attacks against both the Azerbaijani positions on the front line and civilian targets deep in Azerbaijan far from the conflict zone.For the efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to yield concrete results, we deem it necessary that they take into account the violations of Armenia and initiate a result-oriented negotiation process aiming at a lasting solution in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions and international law. We believe only then the declared ceasefires would become sustainable.;A
UA;Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Ukraine Elmira Akhundova has thanked the Ukrainian leadership for supporting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.;"Akhundova said this at a briefing on Monday, October 5, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.""We are very pleased with statements by [Ukrainian Foreign Minister] Dmytro Kuleba about support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and that 'frozen conflicts' are not actually frozen, that they can explode at any moment. [...] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky also voiced his position. He said that Ukraine supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan just as Azerbaijan supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We are very pleased with the statements of the Ukrainian leadership. Thank you for this position,"" she said.The diplomat said that during meetings held at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and with Ukrainian deputies, almost everyone she spoke with supported the position of the Azerbaijani side in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.According to the ambassador, now more and more politicians and leaders of different countries ""indirectly recognize the right of Azerbaijan to protect its territorial integrity.""""This is not only Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, not only Ukraine, which unequivocally supports our territorial integrity, but also Hungary, Latvia and other European countries that recognize Azerbaijan's right to liberate its territories. These are new realities that are now part of the international everyday life, and I think that this is a political precedent that will be an inspiring example for all countries where there are frozen conflicts, and this will oblige international mediators and leaders of international organizations to be more sensitive and more clear and principled about such conflicts, "" Akhundova said.As was reported earlier, Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh on the morning of September 27, mutually accusing each other of shelling border areas and provoking violence. Both countries declared martial law and mobilization. The fighting has already resulted in military losses on both sides and numerous civilian casualties.Ukraine called on the parties to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh not to stir up additional emotions and to settle the conflict in compliance with the principle of the territorial integrity of states.The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988. In 1994, after six years of war, the sides signed the Bishkek Protocol according to which Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on a ceasefire. Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed itself an independent ""republic,"" but Azerbaijan did not recognize this, saying that the territory was occupied by Armenia.";A
UA;Cuts through Caucasus: What Ukraine and Russia need to keep in mind when observing Armenian surrender;"Armenia has surrendered. What exactly did the winners and the losers agree on and why did Russia so easily give up on its allies, and will Armenians and Azerbaijanis be able to coexist peacefully after the bloody confrontation?As convoys of peacekeepers move on, soldiers see dozens of dead bodies in camouflaged uniform. Those fighters died in the battle for the fortress city of Shusha – the battle that put an end to this bloody territorial confrontation. It is this eerie footage that's the true face of war.He who controls Shusha controls all of Karabakh. The strategic city was considered impenetrable. However, on November 9, after several days of fierce hostilities, the Azerbaijani flag was hoisted over the city. Until the last moment, Armenians had hoped to get support from Russia.""Why did our Putin give up on us?"" An Armenian soldier asks, in Russian.The Kremlin chief has the answer. Turkey's open support for Azerbaijan in this conflict has raised the stakes and finished off Russian influence in the Caucasus. Vladimir Putin did not dare to cross the line drawn by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.But there was another motive. Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan, whom Kremlin loathes. He came to power as a result of the revolution, displacing Russia's puppet. Now he's done, definitely. It was after the conversation with the Russian president that Pashinyan signed the deal, which his Azerbaijani counterpart, without hiding his emotions, called surrender on the part of the adversary.""In this paper – not a word about the status of Nagorno Karabakh. So what, Pashinyan? What, where is your status? To hell with your status! There is no status, and there won't be any! As long as I am president, there'll be no status. This is a part of Azerbaijan,"" Ilham Aliyev said.The streets of Azerbaijani cities have turned into human rivers, on the waves of which, to the sounds of songs and dances, float the colors of the national flag… This is victory.And this is how the defeat looks like: outraged by the sudden surrender, the crowd storms the Armenian parliament, smashes furniture and assaults speaker.Armenians are enraged. They don't understand why thousands of young lives have been lost. ""We don't want it this way. We want to fight to the end,"" protesters say at rallies across Armenian cities.""Our republic has been betrayed!"" they add.Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Armenian army completely withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani troops remain in positions where they stopped their advance after the seizure of the stronghold of Shusha.""We could have taken Stepanakert in a few days. This is humanism on the part of our president. He did not want the military to die on either the Armenian side or the Azerbaijani side,"" said Rauf Hajiyev, an Azerbaijani resident.Then the plan is as follows – the Armenians will hand three districts over to Azerbaijan by December 1, leaving only the so-called Lachin corridor. A narrow, 5 km wide corridor, which connects Stepanakert with Armenia. But there is another ""winner's bonus"": a direct road from Azerbaijan to the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic will be built along the territory of Armenia. It is part of Azerbaijan, but was cut off from Armenia.Russia, realizing that its influence in the Caucasus was melting right in front of its eyes, quickly took the last chance to stay.""A Russian peacekeeping contingent will be deployed along the demarcation line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia,"" said Russian President Vladimir Putin.Now Russian convoys with the relevant inscriptions saying ""peacekeeping forces"" are moving to Stepanakert. Nearly 2,000 Russian soldiers are to set up observation posts where the Azerbaijani army stopped their advance earlier this week.It is interesting that TSN.Tyzhden meets ""old acquaintances"" sporting peacekeeping helmets: the 15th separate brigade of the Russian armed forces, whose soldiers have repeatedly been involved in hostilities in the Ukrainian Donbas.""Our team has undergone special training. It consists only of professionals who are ready to perform any tasks,"" said Oleksiy Butenko, a serviceman with the 15th Brigade of the Russian armed forces.But Turkey has once again curtailed Putin's appetites. Ankara is also sending its peacekeepers to Karabakh.According to the agreement, in five years Azerbaijan has the right to expel the Russians from Karabakh. The Turks, however, are welcome to stay. Before our eyes, a new geopolitical configuration is being set up in the region.""Turkey supports us. Because the Turks and we are one people. One nation,"" a resident of the frontline town of Terter, Ahad Sultanov, tells TSN.Tyzhden.Ukrainians are also referred to as allies here. People here do understand that thirty years ago Azerbaijan was in the same situation that Ukraine is in today.So the locals assure: ""It will be even better for you. And Crimea will eventually be back.""Even before the ceasefire, blue-yellow colors could be seen in the front line zone.When asked by TSN.Tyzhnya why there is a Ukrainian flag hoisted among the flags of Israel, Pakistan and Turkey at one of the restaurants, Rauf Hajiyev, the owner's husband, says: ""These are the flags of our allies, our friends. Ukraine has always been a fraternal country for us. We will share our experience and I think that the Ukrainian state will restore its sovereign borders, starting with Crimea and ending with Donbas.""Karabakh could actually become a mirror in which Ukraine will see itself and its future – how it could also regain the territories that are now being temporarily occupied.""Today should show whether the Nagorno-Karabakh agreements are viable at all. After all, today, by the end of the day, the Armenian army must hand over to Azerbaijan, without a fight, control over the largest area of ​​the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,"" TSN.Tyzhnden's special correspondent Andriy Tsaplienko reports from the ground.Now there is a stench of dozens of fires hanging over the area. The war has stopped, but civilian homes keep bursting into flames. It's homeowners who set them on fire in a bid not to leave their belongings to the enemy.""In the end, we will burn everything down so that Muslims get nothing,"" some Armenian say.""We are leaving behind this empty land,"" locals add.Who will come to this land now? How many Azerbaijani refugees who fled their homes thirty years ago will be able to return to their native villages?""Azerbaijan has paid a very high price for its victory. This is a village built for refugees from Karabakh. Not far from the front line. For all forty-four days of the Caucasus War, it was under artillery fire. The last shelling ended only once the ceasefire agreement was signed by parties to the conflict,"" Andriy Tsaplienko says, showing on camera the devastated civilian neighborhoods.Refugees will have to return to where the shells were literally falling on them just yesterday. And these people know – there is scorched earth they'll see there.Adalat Atayev, a refugee from Karabakh, believes that peaceful Armenians who will remain in these territories will be able to live along with Azerbaijanis: ""Everything will be fine. Azerbaijanis are, in fact, very peaceful people.""However, it remains to be seen how long it will take for both nations to forgive each other for the bloody war.""No, it will be an issue to forgive as we saw their hostility towards us, I don't think it'll work… You see, I was six when we were expelled from our village. I was as old as this child I'm holding now,"" says Magira Mehramova, a refugee from Karabakh, who talks to a reporter with a girl in her arms.Many years are probably still to pass before this hot spot eventually cools down. And before an ultimate reconciliation in Black Garden (that's how Karabakh translates) this little girl will probably have started her own family.";A
UA;Fighting in the Caucassus.;Both Azerbaijan and Armenia accuse eachother over newly heated dispute.;N
UA;MFA Ukraine comments on ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh;"Kyiv invariably supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders.Ukraine has welcomed the end of hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, reads the statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 11.""Ukraine welcomes the cessation of hostilities by Azerbaijan and Armenia in the region of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,"" the statement says.In this regard, the foreign ministry believes that ""the next step should be the restoration of stability and vital activity in the region, as well as continued international efforts to achieve a complete settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on international law.""""Ukraine invariably and unconditionally supports the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan within internationally recognized borders. This principle is fundamental for Ukraine, which is still suffering from Russian aggression, and part of whose territory remains under the temporary occupation of Russia,"" the statement said.";A
UK;Viewpoint: Russia and Turkey - unlikely victors of Karabakh conflict;A bloody six-week war in Nagorno-Karabakh is over, after a peace agreement brokered by Moscow was signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia. As the dust settles, Azerbaijan appears to be the clear winner, while Armenia has suffered a bitter defeat. There are, however, two other powers that have benefited from the conflict and the resolution effort: Turkey and Russia.How Turkey and Russia have gained from conflictFor Turkey, the war in Karabakh was a showcase for Ankara's growing role in the strategically important South Caucasus.The victorious Azerbaijani military was supplied, trained, and supported by the Turkish army. Some reports suggest that Turkish officers played a key part in guiding drone attacks which played a decisive role in this conflict, although that has been denied by Ankara.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also vocal in his diplomatic support for Azerbaijan. The victory shows that Turkey has gained significant influence in the region, particularly in Turkic Azerbaijan.At the same time, the outcome of this war, and particularly the way the peace agreement came about, is a win for Russia.Just a couple of weeks ago, with significant Azeri advances and videos of modern drones destroying Armenian Soviet-era tanks, Moscow's position looked pitiable. A great power that was once the unchallenged regional hegemon appeared unable to save Armenia, its only treaty ally in the South Caucasus.But Russian calculations turned out to be more sophisticated and nuanced.Why Russia left Armenia on its ownOver the last two decades, the Kremlin has been under no illusions that, with a petrodollar-fuelled Azeri defence budget three times the size of Armenia's, the balance of power has been inexorably tilting towards Azerbaijan. Moscow tried to pressure Armenia to accept a diplomatic settlement brokered by Russia, the US and France, but the Armenian side refused to make concessions.When a democratic revolution in Armenia brought Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to power in 2018, Yerevan's public stance on Nagorno-Karabakh became even tougher.This is why for years Russia has made it clear to the Armenian government that the military treaty between Yerevan and Moscow covers only the internationally recognised territory of Armenia, and not Karabakh. When the Azeri onslaught began, Armenia was on its own.How Russia benefits from peace dealWhen the Azeri military had taken Shusha (Shushi in Armenian), the second-largest city in Karabakh, Russian diplomatic efforts intensified. Using a mixture of diplomacy and pressure, Moscow secured a peace deal that turns a conflict in which there were no good options for the Kremlin into a situation that helped to boost Russia's leverage.The deal has prevented the conclusive defeat of Nagorno-Karabakh and the likely expulsion of its Armenian inhabitants.Russia is sending about 2,000 peacekeepers to protect the remaining Armenian population, separate the two adversaries, and patrol a corridor that will connect Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh: something the Kremlin has wanted since 1994, but couldn't obtain at the negotiating table before this war.Moscow has also managed to sideline Ankara.Russian President Vladimir Putin is the only signatory of the peace deal beyond the leaders of the two warring states, and the Russian troops will be the only peacekeepers monitoring the implementation of the agreement, with no Turkish or any other boots on the ground - although Turkey says it will send observers.Russian border and customs services will control and operate a newly created route that will connect Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhichevan.Finally, Moscow has shown that it remains an indispensable power in the region, and was able to preserve its ties with both Azerbaijan and Armenia, while successfully competing with Turkey.Why Russia has not had complete successMoscow's diplomatic victory comes at a price. The war has shown the growth of Turkish influence in the Caucasus, and Moscow no longer looks like the only major power in the region.But the region had been opening up over the three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and no-one in Moscow believed Russia could dominate the region indefinitely.Then there is the anger and sense of betrayal felt by Armenian society.But Moscow believes Yerevan has no realistic options other than continuing to rely on Russia to guarantee its security. A likely by-product of the Armenian defeat might be the fall of Nikol Pashinyan's government, but he won't be missed by the Kremlin.Why risks lie aheadThe major risk for Russia going forward is the precariousness of the peace deal that Moscow has brokered.The treaty securing the presence of Russian peacekeepers will expire in five years, after which both Azerbaijan and Armenia will be in a position to call for their withdrawal.The window of opportunity to broker a resolution to the conflict is very narrow, and, given the emotions on both sides and shattered status quo, getting Baku and Yerevan to agree on anything looks like an impossible mission.This might be the point when Moscow will need co-operation from the US and Europe, which - having been completely absent from the picture this time around - can for the moment also be seen as in the losers' camp.;N
UK;Fury and celebrations as Russia brokers peace deal to end Nagorno-Karabakh war;A ferocious six-week war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over a disputed region in the southern Caucasus came to an abrupt end early Tuesday after the surprise announcement of a Russian-brokered peace deal. The deal allows Azerbaijan to reclaim huge swaths of the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region and its surroundings that it lost to war in Armenia nearly three decades ago. It will be enforced by roughly 2,.000 Russian troops along the demarcation lines spelled out in an agreement signed by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan.   “This is a victory for the peoples of the two countries, of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, because war has stopped,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday.   Russia estimated last month that nearly 5,000 people had been killed in the conflict, including nearly 150 civilians from both sides. Armenia has reported at least 1,221 military personnel dead, while Azerbaijan has yet to disclose armed forces casualty numbers. The deal represents a significant victory for Baku, which managed to make major battlefield gains in pursuit of ethnically Armenian territory that is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. It came after Azerbaijan captured the city of Shusha, long considered the centrepiece of the ethnic Azeri presence in Nagorno-Karabakh.   “The capture of Shusha made an Azeri assault on the region’s capital, Stepanakert, all but inevitable, prompting Armenia to accept the humiliating ceasefire,” wrote James M Dorsey of the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute in an analysis. It also amounts to yet another significant diplomatic win for the Kremlin, which has sought in recent years to rebuild its status as an indispensable global diplomatic power. But the accord is a defeat for Armenia and could possibly spell the end of the political career of Mr Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018 in a popular uprising. Hundreds of enraged protesters in Yerevan swarmed his official residence after word of the peace deal spread, attempting to storm through the front doors.   In a post on Facebook, Mr Pashinyan described the decision to sign the deal as “hard” and “painful”, but rooted in battlefield calculations and consultation with experts;N
UK;Armenia-Azerbaijan: Why did Nagorno-Karabakh spark a conflict?;"A peace deal has been agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet Union republics in the Caucasus region.It brings to an end six weeks of fierce fighting in which thousands of people were reported killed and many more displaced.At the heart of the conflict was the Nagorno-Karabakh region. It is recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but it is controlled by ethnic Armenians.The two countries fought a bloody war over the region in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and it has been the trigger for further violence in the years since.The story in 100 wordNagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, but its population is majority Armenian. As the Soviet Union saw increasing tensions in its constituent republics in the 1980s, Nagorno-Karabakh voted to become part of Armenia - sparking a war that stopped with a ceasefire in 1994.Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh has remained part of Azerbaijan but is controlled by separatist ethnic Armenians backed by the Armenian government. Until recently, negotiations mediated by international powers had failed to deliver a peace agreement.Armenia is majority Christian while Azerbaijan is majority Muslim. Turkey has close ties to Azerbaijan, while Russia is allied with Armenia - although it also has good relations with Azerbaijan.The story in 600 wordsThe Caucasus is a strategically important mountainous region in south-east Europe. For centuries, different powers in the region - both Christian and Muslim - have vied for control there.Modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union when it formed in the 1920s. Nagorno-Karabakh was an ethnic-majority Armenian region, but the Soviets gave control over the area to Azerbaijani authorities.It was only as the Soviet Union began to collapse in the late 1980s that Nagorno-Karabakh's regional parliament officially voted to become part of Armenia.Azerbaijan sought to suppress the separatist movement, while Armenia backed it. This led to ethnic clashes, and - after Armenia and Azerbaijan declared independence from Moscow - a full-scale war.Tens of thousands died and up to a million were displaced amid reports of ethnic cleansing and massacres committed by both sides. Most of those displaced in the war were Azerbaijanis.Armenian forces gained control of Nagorno-Karabakh and areas adjacent to it before a Russian-brokered ceasefire was declared in 1994.After that deal, Nagorno-Karabakh remained part of Azerbaijan, but since then has mostly been governed by a separatist, self-declared republic, run by ethnic Armenians and backed by the Armenian government.It also established the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact, separating Armenian and Azerbaijan forces.Peace talks have taken place since then, mediated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group - a body set up in 1992 and chaired by France, Russia and the United States.But clashes continued, and a serious flare-up in 2016 saw the deaths of dozens of troops on both sides.The conflict is further complicated by geopolitics. Nato member-state Turkey was the first nation to recognise Azerbaijan's independence in 1991. Former Azeri President Heydar Aliyev once described the two as ""one nation with two states"". Both share a Turkic culture and populations.Moreover, Turkey has no official relations with Armenia. In 1993 Turkey shut its border with Armenia in support of Azerbaijan during the war over Nagorno-Karabakh.Armenia meanwhile has had good relations with Russia. There is a Russian military base in Armenia, and both are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) military alliance. However, President Vladimir Putin also has maintained good relations with Azerbaijan.In 2018, Armenia underwent a peaceful revolution, sweeping long-time ruler Serzh Sargsyan from power. Protest leader Nikol Pashinyan became the prime minister after free elections that year.Mr Pashinyan agreed with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to de-escalate tensions and set up the first military hotline between the two countries.But in August 2019 Mr Pashinyan told crowds of ethnic Armenians assembled in the main city in Karabakh, Stepanakert, that ""Artsakh is Armenia, full stop."" Artsakh is the Armenian name for Karabakh. The remarks angered Azerbaijan and were repeatedly condemned by President Aliyev.Fighting broke out in July this year on the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, some 300km (185 miles) away from Nagorno-Karabakh. By the end of the month Turkey's military was taking part in large-scale joint exercises in Azerbaijan.The latest conflict broke out on 27 September. Armenia said Azerbaijan fired the first shots. Azerbaijan said it was launching a ""counter-offensive"" in response to Armenian aggression.Fighting came to an end in November when both sides agreed to sign a Russian-brokered peace deal. Under its terms, Azerbaijan holds on to several areas that it gained control of during the conflict and Armenia will withdraw troops from them. Almost 2,000 Russian peacekeepers will monitor the truce.";A
UK;Clashes in Azerbaijan-Armenia border. High casualities.;Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse eachother for civillian casualities and restarting the combat along the border.;N
UK;NAGORNO-KARABAKH: ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN CLASHES RESUME AS IRAN PROMISES PEACE PLAN;"Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of launching missile attacks on their major cities as Iran said it was working on a peace plan to end the fighting. The conflict over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies inside Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since 1994, reignited on 27 September amid claims Turkey was sending militants to the region. Dzens of people have already been killed, with Nagorno-Karabakh officials claiming that around 220 servicemen and 21 civilians have died in the clashes. Azerbaijani authorities have not confirmed any military casualties but reported the deaths of 25 civilians. On Monday morning Armenian military officials reported missile strikes in the territorial capital of Stepanakert, which came under intense attacks all weekend. Residents told the Russian state RIA Novosti news agency that parts of the city were suffering shortages of electricity and gas after the strikes. In turn the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry accused Armenian forces of shelling the towns of Tartar, Barda and Beylagan, and firing on Ganja, the country's second-largest city. Hikmet Hajiyev, aide to Azeirbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, tweeted that Armenian forces attacked ""densely populated civilian areas"" in Ganja, Barda, Beylagan and other towns ""with missiles and rockets."" Armenia's Foreign Ministry dismissed allegations of attacks being launched from Armenia's territory as a ""disinformation campaign"" by Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh officials didn't comment on the accusations, but warned that the territory's forces would target military facilities in Azerbaijani cities in response to strikes on Stepanakert. The Foreign Ministry of Iran, which shares a 470 mile-long border with Azerbaijan and a short border with Armenia, said it is working on a peace deal. Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said: ""Iran has prepared a plan with a specific framework containing details after consultations with both sides of the dispute, Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as regional states and neighbors, and will pursue this plan."" Mr Khatibzadeh also warned both sides against expanding the hostilities into Iranian territory, following reports that stray mortar shells had injured a child and damaged some buildings in rural areas in northern Iran. ""Any aggression against the borders of the Islamic Republic, even inadvertently, is a very serious red line for the Islamic Republic that should not be crossed,"" he said. Nagorno-Karabakh was a designated autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. It claimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, about three months before the Soviet Union's collapse. A full-scale war that broke out in 1992 killed an estimated 30,000 people. By the time the war ended in 1994, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but also substantial areas outside the territory borders, like the Jabrayil region. Azerbaijan's president has repeatedly said that the fighting will end only with Armenia's withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian officials allege Turkey is involved in the conflict on the side of Azerbaijan and is sending fighters from Syria to the region. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said ""a cease-fire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus."" Turkey, a NATO member, has denied sending arms or foreign fighters, while publicly siding with Azerbaijan. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg  met with the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday night to discuss the ""military de-confliction mechanism"" developed by the organisation for the Eastern Mediterranean. He told reporters that NATO was ""deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities,"" and urged Turkey to ""use its considerable influence to calm tensions.""";N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to ceasefire;Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russia-brokered ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting on Saturday, but immediately accused each other of derailing the deal intended to end the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist region in more than a quarter of a century. The two sides traded blame for breaking the truce that took effect at midday (8am GMT) with new attacks, and Azerbaijan’s top diplomat said the truce never entered force. The ceasefire announcement came overnight after 10 hours of talks in Moscow sponsored by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. The deal stipulated that the ceasefire should pave the way for talks on settling the conflict. If the truce holds, it would mark a major diplomatic coup for Russia, which has a security pact with Armenia but also cultivated warm ties with Azerbaijan. But the agreement was immediately challenged by mutual claims of violations. Minutes after the truce took force, the Armenian military accused Azerbaijan of shelling the area near the town of Kapan in southeastern Armenia, killing one civilian. Azerbaijan’s defence ministry rejected the Armenian accusations as a “provocation”. The Azerbaijani military, in turn, accused Armenia of striking the Terter and Agdam regions of Azerbaijan with missiles and then attempting to launch offensives in the Agdere-Terter and the Fizuli-Jabrail areas. Azerbaijan’s foreign minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, charged that “conditions for implementing the humanitarian ceasefire are currently missing” amid the continuing Armenian shelling. Armenia’s defence ministry denied any truce violations by the Armenian forces. The latest outburst of fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces began on 27 September and left hundreds of people dead in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. Since the start of the latest fighting, Armenia said it was open to a ceasefire, while Azerbaijan insisted that it should be conditional on the Armenian forces’ withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, arguing that the failure of international efforts to negotiate a political settlement left it no other choice but to resort to force. The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed the truce in Moscow after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, brokered a deal in a series of calls with president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Armenia’s prime minister Nikol Pashinian. Russia co-sponsored peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh along with the United States and France as co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which is working under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They have not produced a deal, leaving Azerbaijan increasingly exasperated. Speaking in an address to the nation on Friday hours before the ceasefire deal was reached, the Azerbaijani president insisted on his country’s right to reclaim its territory by force after nearly three decades of international talks that “haven’t yielded an inch of progress”. Fighting with heavy artillery, warplanes and drones engulfed Nagorno-Karabakh, with both sides accusing each other of targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure. According to the Nagorno-Karabakh military, 404 of its servicemen have been killed since 27 September. Azerbaijan has not provided details on its military losses. Scores of civilians on both sides have also been killed. The current escalation marked the first time that Turkey, Azerbaijan’s ally, took a high profile in the conflict, offering strong political support. Over the past few years, Turkey provided Azerbaijan with state-of-the-art weapons, including drones and rocket systems that helped the Azerbaijani military outgun the Nagorno-Karabakh separatist forces in the latest fighting. Armenian officials say Turkey is involved in the conflict and is sending Syrian mercenaries to fight on Azerbaijan’s side. Turkey denied deploying combatants to the region, but a Syrian war monitor and three Syria-based opposition activists confirmed that Turkey has sent hundreds of Syrian opposition fighters to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh. A lasting ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh would allow the Kremlin to stem Turkey’s bid to expand its clout in Russia’s backyard without ruining its strategic relationship with Ankara. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the deal was “an important first step, but cannot replace a lasting solution.” “Since the beginning, Turkey has always underlined that it would only support those solutions which were acceptable to Azerbaijan,” it said. While Turkey has aspired to join the Minsk Group talks as a co-chair, the statement issued by Armenia and Azerbaijan contained their pledge to maintain the current format of the peace talks. Speaking in televised remarks after the talks, Armenia’s foreign minister, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, emphasised that “no other country, in particular Turkey, can play any role.”;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Civilians hit amid Armenia Azerbaijan conflict;"Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of attacking residential areas as the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region rages on.Azerbaijan said an Armenian missile had killed at least 13 civilians in Ganja, a city far from the front lines.Armenia meanwhile accused Azerbaijan of shelling residences in Stepanakert.It is the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians.A six-year war over the territory ended in 1994 with a ceasefire but not a peace treaty.What are Armenia and Azerbaijan fighting over?Karabakh war leaves civilians shell-shocked and bitterNagorno-Karabakh conflict in picturesFighting flared last month and has killed hundreds of people. Both sides signed a Russian-brokered truce last weekend, but the conflict has continued.What happened overnight?Officials in Azerbaijan announced on Saturday that at least 13 people had been killed and more than 40 injured after a missile struck populated areas in Ganja, the second-largest city in the country.About 100 rescuers are working to reach people believed to be trapped under the rubble, BBC Azeri reported.A foreign ministry statement accused Armenia of ""deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilians"".Armenian officials denied the attack, and accused Azerbaijan of attacking civilian areas.Defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan posted a video on Facebook which she said showed devastation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.""At night, once again violating the humanitarian ceasefire, the Azerbaijani Armed Force struck with missiles at [civilians]... including the capital Stepanakert.""What's the latest on the ground?In a televised address on Saturday, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev denied attacking civilians while accusing Armenia of destroying or damaging ""more than 2,000 houses"" in Azerbaijan.He also said that his country's forces had taken the city of Fuzuli and seven villages in Nagorno-Karabakh.""Our revenge is on the battlefield,"" he said. ""The Azerbaijani army is achieving its goal, no force can stop us.""On Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his country had suffered ""numerous casualties"" on the battlefield, but added that despite ""losses of manpower and equipment"", Armenian forces were still in general control and had inflicted ""numerous losses of manpower and equipment on the enemy"".""This is not a statement of despair or desperation. I provide this information because I am committed to tell our people the truth,"" he said.";A
UK;Armenia asks Moscow for help amid Nagorno-Karabakh fighting;Armenia’s leader urged Russia Saturday to consider providing security assistance to end the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh the biggest escalation in the decades-long conflict between his country and Azerbaijan. Following more than a month of intense fighting in which Azerbaijani troops forged into the separatist territory, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian asked Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to quickly discuss possible security aid to his country. There was no immediate response from the Kremlin. The request came as Azerbaijani troops forged deeper into Nagorno-Karabakh and both sides accused each of breaking a mutual pledge not to target residential areas hours after it was made. Russia, which has a military base in Armenia and has signed a pact obliging it to protect its ally in case of foreign aggression, faces a delicate balancing act, of trying to maintain good ties with Azerbaijan and avoid a showdown with Turkey. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The latest outburst of hostilities began Sept. 27 and left hundreds — perhaps thousands — dead, marking the worst escalation of fighting since the war’s end. On Friday, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Geneva for a day of talks, which were brokered by Russia, the United States and France, co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that tries to mediate the decades-long conflict. The talks concluded close to midnight with the two sides agreeing they “will not deliberately target civilian populations or non-military objects in accordance with international humanitarian law.” But shortly after the mutual pledge was announced by the Minsk Group co-chairs, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities accused Azerbaijani forces of firing rockets at a street market and a residential building in the separatist region's capital, Stepanakert. They said that residential areas in the town of Shushi also came under Azerbaijani shelling. The rapid failure of the latest attempt to contain the fighting follows the collapse of three successive cease-fires. A U.S.-brokered truce frayed immediately after it took effect Monday, just like two previous cease-fires negotiated by Russia. The warring sides have repeatedly blamed each other for violations.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: both sides blame each other over ceasefire violations;Armenian officials and Azerbaijan on Saturday accused each other of breaching a peace deal that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, with Azerbaijan’s leader threatening to crush Armenian forces with an “iron fist”. The new clashes mark the first significant breach of the peace deal brokered by Russia on 10 November which saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over broad swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding lands which were held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter of a century. Separatist officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said the Azerbaijani military launched an attack late on Friday that left three local ethnic Armenian servicemen wounded. Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region to monitor the peace deal reported a violation of the ceasefire in the Gadrut region on Friday. The report issued on Saturday by the Russian defence ministry did not assign blame. Later in the day, the Armenian defence ministry also charged that the Azerbaijani army mounted an attack in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday. Azerbaijani’s president, Ilham Aliyev, reacted on Saturday by blaming Armenia for the new clashes and threatened to “break its head with an iron fist”. “Armenia shouldn’t try to start it all over again,” Aliyev said during a meeting with top diplomats from the United States and France who have tried to mediate the decades-old conflict. “It must be very cautious and not plan any military action. This time, we will fully destroy them. It mustn’t be a secret to anyone.” Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said in a statement late Saturday that its forces thwarted Armenian “provocations” and restored the ceasefire. Armenian officials said the fighting raged near the villages of Hin Tager and Khtsaberd, the only settlements in the Gadrut region that are still controlled by Armenian forces. They noted that the two villages have been fully encircled by the Azerbaijani army, which controls the only road leading to them. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands. During the 44 days of fighting that began in late September and left more than 5,600 people dead on both sides, the Azerbaijani army pushed deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept last month’s peace deal, which saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region along with surrounding areas. Russia deployed almost 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace deal and to facilitate the return of refugees. Azerbaijan marked its victory with a military parade on Thursday that was attended by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and involved more than 3,000 troops, dozens of military vehicles and a flyby of combat aircraft. The peace deal was a major shock for Armenians, triggering protests calling for the resignation of the prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, who has refused to step down. He described the peace agreement as a bitter but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from taking over all of Nagorno-Karabakh.;E
UK;Armenian officials report new clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh;Armenian officials on Saturday accused Azerbaijan of breaching a peace deal that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh Separatist officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said the Azerbaijani military launched an attack late Friday that left three local ethnic Armenian servicemen wounded. Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region to monitor the peace deal reported a violation of the cease-fire in the Gadrut region on Friday. The report issued Saturday by the Russian Defense Ministry didn't assign blame. Later in the day, the Armenian Defense Ministry also charged that the Azerbaijani army mounted an attack in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday. Azerbaijani authorities had no immediate comment to the Armenian statements claiming the first significant breaches of the peace deal brokered by Russia on Nov. 10 that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over broad swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding lands which were held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter century. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands. In 44 days of fighting that began in late September and left more than 5,600 people killed on both sides, the Azerbaijani army pushed deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept last month's peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region along with surrounding areas. Azerbaijan marked its victory with a military parade on Thursday that was attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and involved more than 3,000 troops, dozens of military vehicles, and a flyby of combat aircraft. The peace deal was a major shock for Armenians, triggering protests calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Pashinyan, who has refused to step down. He described the peace agreement as a bitter but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from taking over all of Nagorno-Karabakh.;E
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenian PM ignores ultimatum to resign;"Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has ignored an ultimatum by protesters who called on him to quit over a deal to end the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Pressured by the opposition parties, the Armenian parliament is expected to hold an emergency session on Mr Pashinyan's political future. Under the Russian-brokered deal, Azerbaijan keeps areas it has captured. Hundreds of Russian peacekeepers are already deployed in the disputed area. Turkey's president said on Wednesday it had signed a deal with Russia to take part in ""joint peace forces"" to monitor the agreement. Viewpoint: Unlikely victors in Karabakh conflict Why did Armenia and Azerbaijan go to war? Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but which has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since a 1994 truce. In the past six weeks of fighting Azerbaijan has not only recaptured areas around the enclave but it has taken the key town of Shusha inside it too. What is happening in Yerevan Thousands of protesters in Freedom Square in the Armenian capital have been chanting ""Nikol is a traitor"" and ""Nikol, leave"", denouncing Mr Pashinyan's acceptance of the peace deal with Azerbaijan. The demonstrators ignored martial law, under which rallies are banned. The urged the prime minister to resign by midnight (21:00 GMT). According to reports by Armenian media, more than 100 people were detained and later released. Hundreds of protesters then headed to parliament demanding the emergency session to push for the prime minister's dismissal. Later reports said a special sitting had been convened at the request of two of the opposition parties. Some of the protesters said the prime minister should have consulted the people before agreeing a peace deal, accusing him of breaching the constitution, a BBC correspondent in Yerevan reports. Mr Pashinyan took office after leading a peaceful 2018 revolution in the post-Soviet state. Under the terms of the agreement to end the conflict over Karabakh, Armenia has agreed to withdraw from parts of the enclave as well as adjacent areas that it seized from Azerbaijan in the 1990s. Speaking via Facebook earlier, Mr Pashinyan insisted that if he had not agreed to halt the conflict, there would have been even greater losses - a comment backed up earlier by Karabakh's ethnic Armenian leader Arayik Harutyunyan. The prime minister said he had taken the ""painful"" decision following a ""deep analysis of the military situation"" to agree the deal, handing over three areas adjacent to Karabakh - Aghdam, Lachin and Kalbajar. But after Shusha (Shushi in Armenian) inside Karabakh fell to Azerbaijan at the weekend, he said there was a risk of ""total collapse"" with thousands of Armenian soldiers being placed under siege and the enclave's main city falling too. ""We had a situation where Stepanakert was left defenceless."" How will the deal be monitored? Mr Pashinyan signed the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for 1,960 armed Russian peacekeepers to patrol the front line as well as the ""Lachin corridor"", which links Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. In a statement, Gen Sergei Rudskoy of the Russian General Staff said that 16 observation posts would be set up on the ""line of contact"" to prevent ""illegal action"" against civilians and escort convoys and cargo. More than 400 peacekeepers had already arrived and were in control of the Lachin corridor, he added. Russia has a military alliance with Armenia as well as an army base, but it did not intervene during the conflict. It also has close ties with Azerbaijan and has sold weapons to both countries. Turkey openly backed Azerbaijan during the conflict and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a Turkish-Russian control centre would be set up in the ""liberated part of Azerbaijan"" to monitor the ceasefire.";E
UK;Serzh Sargsyan: Armenia’s former president rails at ‘madness’ of Nagorno-Karabakh war;"Armenia's former longtime president has warned of a worsening conflict in the Caucasus where armed forces loyal to his country are battling Azerbaijani soldiers in a rare modern war pitting two nations against each other. Serzh Sargsyan spoke to The Independent as the two countries’ foreign ministers were set to meet US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday, in a desperate effort to end the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, the deadliest since the 1990s. That potential diplomatic breakthrough comes after claims on Tuesday from the breakaway region’s defence ministry that almost 800 people have died in the current fighting which erupted last month. Sargsyan, a deeply controversial figure, called the ongoing war “madness”, blaming Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev for being the driving force behind the conflict. “Strategically, this war is madness and civilians are paying for Aliyev’s insane dream,” he told The Independent via email. Armenia claims the mostly ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh enclave as part of its homeland even as it is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory. The region and surrounding districts also considered part of Azerbaijan has been under the control of Armenian forces and a puppet government loyal to Yerevan since an early 1990s war. Azerbaijan, rich with gas money and backed by regional power Turkey, has the military hardware edge over Armenia and has made small gains since fighting began 27 September. But Mr Sargsyan said Azerbaijan’s gains have come at a tremendous cost. ""The president of Azerbaijan has repeatedly promised to his people that his army can conquer Nagorno-Karabakh very quickly,” he said. “Now they are using all weapons at their disposal, including drones and mercenaries sent by Turkey. Yet in three weeks of fighting, they could progress only in one district and this does not mean the end of the war.” In response, a top Azerbaijani official dismissed Mr Sargysan as a “war criminal” who he said was involved in the mass murder of at least 161 civilians in the town of Khojaly in 1992.   “He was directly engaged in killing Azerbaijani civilians,” Hikmet Hajiyev, an adviser to Mr Aliyev, told The Independent. “Now he tries to depict himself as an angel and peace lover. For Azerbaijan, he’s a war criminal and killer of kids.” Videos posted to the internet over the last 48 hours showed train cars and trucks loaded with military equipment purportedly heading from Russia and Iran to Armenia.   Mr Sargsyan has been a major figure in Armenia since its independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. He has served as a prime minister, defence minister, and minister of national security and, from 2008 to 2018, as president, taking over for a week as prime minister in an attempt to increase his power following constitutional changes. During his years as president he sought to reach out to both Azerbaijan and Turkey in an effort to normalise ties. In a grand gesture of diplomacy, he invited then Turkish president Abdullah Gul to watch a football match between the two countries in Armenia, while Mr Sargasyan travelled to Turkey for a subsequent game. But many Armenians consider him corrupt, autocratic and a pawn of the Kremlin. They drove him from power in widespread street protests that launched a new era of politics in Armenia in 2018 under prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, a populist journalist who, following a brief period of hope and renewed dialogue, came to be described by some as more chauvinistic and less conciliatory in his approach to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.   Mr Sargsyan has fallen out of favour in Yerevan. Mr Hajiyev described him as the “most hated person” in Armenia. He now faces embezzlement charges relating to allegations of pilfering approximately £800,000 from a state fuel subsidy programme.   He said he and other former Armenian officials and opposition figures had sought to advise the new government but had mostly been ignored. Still, he pointedly declined to criticise his successor or the Armenian commanders leading the war effort. Azerbaijani officials in the months preceding the war voiced alarm at what they called the aggressive military posture of Armenia’s defence minister David Tonoyan. “In my opinion, a doctrine of pre-emptive action is not appropriate for our case,” said Mr Sargysan, who has served as Armenia’s defence minister for two lengthy stints.   In the midst of the conflict, the government in Yerevan sacked its intelligence chief, in a possible sign of discontent at the direction of the war effort. “My successor didn’t take the path we have been successfully following for a considerable time and decided, as he has put it, to start the negotiations from his own point of view,” he said.   Mr Hajiyev said Mr Sargysan had repeatedly undermined any peace efforts with intransigence aimed at prolonging the occupation of Azerbaijani land. “For us he was a gambler,” he said. “He was also a person you can’t have any confidence or trust.” But Mr Sargysan blamed Azerbaijan for sabotaging any hope of peace. “This conflict was never really a frozen conflict, even though we managed to guarantee the security of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said. “On a smaller scale, Azerbaijan kept attacking us throughout these years.” The boisterous support of Azerbaijan by Turkey in the conflict has been decisive, he said. “The current war against Nagorno-Karabakh comes with an unprecedented level of joint preparation by Azerbaijan and Turkey,” he said. “Turkish drones are the backbone of Azerbaijan’s attack. One can conclude that the decisions about the military action are taken jointly.” Experts say the closest the two countries came to achieving a settlement came in 2011, when Mr Sargysan and Mr Aliyev broke off talks organised by Moscow, Washington and Paris in the Russian city of Kazan.   A resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh appears further than ever. “This conflict is not resolved, partially because of the lack of trust,” he said. “I strongly believe that direct negotiations with Aliyev are a big mistake for the simple reason that Azerbaijan will never agree to the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.” The Kremlin is trying to broker a meeting in Moscow between Mr Pashinkyan and Mr Aliyev. Asked what he would say to his Azerbaijani counterparts, Mr Sargysan said: “This conflict cannot be solved with military means or with any solution that would drive Armenians from their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh. Peace needs to come through negotiations.”";E
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: The family that lost everything;As part of the peace agreement that ended six weeks of war, Armenia reluctantly agreed that parts of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh would now be controlled by Azerbaijan. For the ethnic Armenians who fled fighting in the town of Hadrut that meant they had effectively been made homeless, driven from their houses by the conflict and unwilling to return and live under Azeri control.;N
UK;At least 3 die in latest shelling of Nagorno-Karabakh cities;At least three civilians were killed in the latest shelling of Nagorno-Karabakh cities Friday as Azerbaijan pushed its offensive to reclaim control over the separatist territory for a sixth straight week, territorial authorities said. Azerbaijani rockets and artillery shells hit residential areas in Nagorno-Karabakh's regional capital, Stepanakert, and the city of Shushi in the hills just south, according to Nagorno-Karabakh authorities. They said at least three people died, including a woman and her two grandchildren in Stepanakert. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied targeting civilian areas, as it has on previous days of fighting, and accused Armenia of targeting the city of Terter and nearby villages in Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The latest outbreak of fighting started on Sept. 27 and has left hundreds — if not thousands — dead, marking the worst escalation of the decades-old conflict between the two ex-Soviet nations in over a quarter-century. According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,177 of their troops and 50 civilians have been killed. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed at least 92 civilians and wounded over 400. But Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 22 that the actual death toll was nearing 5,000, according to the information Moscow had at the time. Over 130,000 residents have been displaced since the fighting flared up, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF has reported. The fighting has continued to rage despite international attempts to end hostilities, with two Russia-brokered cease-fires and a U.S.-negotiated truce failing instantly after they took effect. In the most recent mediation attempt a week ago, Russia, the United States and France persuaded Armenia and Azerbaijan to make a mutual pledge not to target residential areas, but that agreement also collapsed within hours. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that for hostilities to end Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh. He repeatedly criticized the international mediators for failing to offer a settlement after three decades of talks and insisted that Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force. Azerbaijani troops, which have relied on strike drones and long-range rocket systems supplied by Turkey, have reclaimed control of several regions on the fringes of Nagorno-Karabakh and pressed their offensive into the separatist territory from the south. Associated Press writers Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.;E
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan troops begin retaking land from Armenia;Azerbaijan forces have entered a district bordering Nagorno-Karabakh as the country begins retaking territory held for nearly 30 years by the Armenian-backed government as part of a Russian-brokered peace deal. Video showed troops and armoured vehicles moving into the district of Aghdam, which Armenia conceded in a controversial armistice, one day after columns of its soldiers and tanks rolled out of the territory. Armenia will also hand over the Kalbajar district wedged between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia on 25 November and the Lachin district by 1 December. On Thursday, Armenian residents of Aghdam hurriedly picked pomegranates and persimmons from trees surrounding their homes and packed vans with furniture, before fleeing in the run-up to the official deadline to cede the mountainous province. “We wanted to build a sauna, kitchen. But now I had to dismantle everything. And I’ll burn down the house with everything I own when I leave,” Gagik Grigoryan, a 40-year-old electrical worker, told Reuters before abandoning his home. Tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis are expected to return to the region. On Friday, Azerbaijan quickly organised prayers at a local mosque to signal the return of the city to the control of the mostly Muslim country. Political tensions have remained high in Armenia, where the truce was viewed by many as a capitulation by the government of prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan. On Friday, several Armenian news sources reported that the minister of defence, David Tonoyan, had tendered his resignation in what, if confirmed, would be another exit of a high-ranking official from his cabinet. The country’s foreign minister resigned earlier this week and its president, Armen Sarkisian, had called for Pashinyan to step down and allow snap elections to lead the country out of the crisis. Pashinyan has responded with calls for unity and has issued a government roadmap out of the crisis that include returning refugees to the Karabakh region, which Armenia calls Artsakh, and modernising the country’s military. He has called for greater development in Stepanakert and those territories remaining under Armenian control. Fierce clashes between Azerbaijan’s forces and Armenian separatists broke out in late September in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The war lasted six weeks, leaving thousands dead and displacing many more. The longstanding ex-Soviet rivals finally agreed to end hostilities last week under the framework of a Russian-brokered accord under which Moscow will deploy peacekeepers to the region and Armenia must cede swathes of territory. Separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh and several surrounding districts captured the territory and claimed independence that has not been recognised internationally, even by Armenia, after a post-Soviet 1990s war that left 30,000 dead. As part of last week’s peace deal, Armenia agreed to return 15-20% of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory captured by Azerbaijan in recent fighting, including the historical town of Shusha. The exchange of territory was originally expected to begin on Sunday, with Armenians in the Kalbajar district fleeing en masse before the official deadline for Azerbaijan’s takeover. But Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, postponed the deadline by one week over “humanitarian” considerations. The Russian peacekeeping force of 2,000 troops has deployed to the administrative centre of the region, Stepanakert, and set up checkpoints and observation posts along the strategic Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. While Armenians in the provinces to be handed over to Azerbaijan have left in an exodus, the Russian mission on Thursday said it had bussed 3,000 residents back to Stepanakert and other regions who had fled during the six weeks of heavy shelling. Most of Azerbaijan’s south-western district of Aghdam has been under the control of Armenian separatists since 1993. Before the post-Soviet war it was inhabited by 130,000 people – mostly ethnic Azerbaijanis who were expelled from their homes. Armenia’s health ministry said this week that more than 2,400 of the country’s fighters had been killed in the clashes. Azerbaijan has not revealed its military fatalities. After the peace accord was signed last week, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said total fatalities that included dozens of civilians had surpassed 4,000 people. Russia’s decisive role in the settlement has sidelined the United States and France, which brokered a ceasefire in the 1990s but failed to deliver a long-term resolution. During the most recent conflict, France, the US and Russia attempted to broker three separate ceasefires that collapsed as Armenia and Azerbaijan accused the other of violations. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, this week urged Russia to clarify “ambiguities” over the ceasefire, including Turkey’s role in the peacekeeping mission. Azerbaijan has insisted on a prominent role for its staunch ally Turkey, which was widely accused by western countries, Russia and Armenia of supplying Baku with mercenary fighters from Syria over the weeks of fighting. The Kremlin has poured cold water on Ankara’s hopes of deploying peacekeepers alongside Russian troops in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding provinces and instead insisted that Turkey observe the truce from monitoring posts in Azerbaijan.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Missile strike on Azeri town kills 21 civilians;"Azerbaijan has accused the Armenian military of killing at least 21 civilians in a missile strike as fighting over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh intensifies.Dozens more were reportedly wounded in the strike on the Azeri town of Barda, not far from the ongoing clashes.Armenia has denied carrying out the attack, and accused Azerbaijan of targeting a maternity ward in the area.Fighting over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh erupted on 27 September.The mountainous territory is officially part of Azerbaijan, but run by ethnic Armenians.What happened in the latest strikes?Azerbaijani presidential spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev said Armenian forces had ""used cluster munitions to inflict excessive casualties among civilians"" in Barda, in central Azerbaijan.Images posted on social media showed damage to streets and vehicles with what appeared to be several bodies in body bags laid out on the road.What are Armenia and Azerbaijan fighting over?One local resident, Ulviyya Babayeva, said she was in her car nearby when she heard three explosions and decided to head to the area.""We saw a fire... bombs have been dropped,"" she told the BBC. ""One fell on the car outside a bank building, fragments [of bombs] everywhere, [broken] glass [of cars/windows]... one of the bombs fell outside fire rescue station, there are dead and injured people.""Police officers and other service personnel were sent to Barda to help transport the injured to hospital, as well as provide additional security in the town, the Azerbaijani interior ministry said.The ministry added that the attack was a gross violation of international humanitarian law, and that the Armenian government should accept responsibility.Separately, a statement issued by Karabkah officials said Azerbaijani forces had struck a maternity hospital and other ""civil infrastructure"" in the territory's city of Stepanakert.They added that information on possible casualties at the facility, which had been under construction, was ""being clarified"".The latest attacks come just days after a US-brokered ceasefire was agreed between the two sides.Earlier, Azerbaijani media reported that the head of the Nagorno-Karabakh military, Jalal Harutyunyan, was killed in a special operation on Tuesday.The Azerbaijani defence ministry said that Mr Harutyunyan, who it accused of carrying out war crimes in the region, was identified by surveillance teams entering a vehicle, which was then targeted by a drone strike.What about the ceasefire?The US-brokered ceasefire, the third relating to the recent conflict after two previous agreements brokered by Russia failed, began early on Monday.US President Donald Trump tweeted shortly after it was announced by the US state department at the weekend to congratulate those involved following ""intense negotiations"".But just minutes after it came into force, Armenia and Azerbaijan both accused each other of violating the truce.Azerbaijan said Armenian forces began shelling the town of Terter and nearby villages in a ""gross violation"" of the agreement.Armenia's defence ministry said Azerbaijani artillery had fired on military positions in various parts of the front line after the ceasefire agreement had begun.Clashes that began in the region in September have quickly escalated into a large-scale conflict, with the shelling of towns and cities and the alleged use of banned cluster munitions.Several thousand people have died and shelling has killed civilians on both sides. Tens of thousands have fled their homes.";A
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: both sides accused of using cluster bombs;Azerbaijan has been accused of using banned cluster bombs in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, including munitions found in civilian areas, and has accused Armenia of using the same weapons, though without providing evidence. Media and human rights organisations have confirmed the use of Israel-made M095 cluster munitions, which scatter hundreds of bomblets, or submunitions, on residential areas of Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital, which is being targeted by Azeri forces. The use of the banned weapons was documented as fighting continued on Thursday and international mediators prepared to try to reach a ceasefire agreement in Geneva. Expectations for short-term peace are low and there are fears that regional powers could be dragged into the conflict, with a Russian-led military alliance that includes Armenia warning it could intervene in the conflict if Armenian sovereignty is threatened. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has made clear he does not consider fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh – ruled by ethnic Armenians but inside Azerbaijan’s territory – to be a trigger for the six-member Collective Security Treaty Organisation’s involvement. As the deadliest fighting over the region since the 1990s entered its 12th day on Thursday, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of bombing the historic Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral. Baku denied its forces were behind the attack, saying that, unlike Armenia, “the Azerbaijani army does not target historical, cultural, or especially religious, buildings and monuments”. Rubble was strewn about the floor, pews were knocked over and the interior was covered in dust from the building’s limestone walls that had been hit. A section of its metallic roof had collapsed and fallen to the ground outside. “There is no military, nothing strategic here, how can you target a church?” one resident, Simeon, said. Cluster bombs are banned under the convention on cluster munitions (CCM), a treaty signed by more than 100 states, but neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan. The indiscriminate nature of the scattering of the bomblets, some of which can fail to explode on impact, can pose a threat to civilians long after conflicts have ended. Officials from Azerbaijan deny their forces are using the weapons in Nagorno-Karabakh and have instead alleged that Armenian forces used them in an attack on a pipeline. “Armenia fired a cluster rocket at the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. In the vicinity of Yevlakh region, a rocket landed 10 metres away from the pipeline,” said Hikmet Hajivev, the aide of Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, in a tweet late on Tuesday. The use of the cluster munitions has so far been mostly documented in Stepanakert which has come under bombardment by the Azeris’ arsenal, including Russia-made BM-30 Smerch multiple-rocket launcher systems. The BM-30 can fire a warhead capable of carrying cluster bombs and Azerbaijan also has in its possession two rocket systems built by Israel’s IMI Systems. After images of the bomblets appeared in the media and online, Amnesty International said its experts were able to trace where the weapons had been used in Stepanakert. “The use of cluster bombs in any circumstances is banned under international humanitarian law, so their use to attack civilian areas is particularly dangerous and will only lead to further deaths and injuries,” said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty’s acting head of research for eastern Europe and central Asia. “Cluster bombs are inherently indiscriminate weapons, and their deployment in residential areas is absolutely appalling and unacceptable. As fighting continues to escalate, civilians must be protected, not deliberately targeted or recklessly endangered.” While neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan are signatories to the CCM, indiscriminate targeting of civilian areas is illegal under international humanitarian law. The use of the weapons in the conflict was described as “deeply alarming” by the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC). “To avoid harming more civilians, Armenia and Azerbaijan should commit not to use cluster munitions and take steps to join the convention on cluster munitions without delay,” the CMC director, Hector Guerra, said. Cluster munitions were used in Nagorno-Karabakh in the last round of fighting in 2016 and both sides have said they cannot join the treaty until the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is resolved.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan says 12 civilians killed by shelling in Ganja;Azerbaijan has said at least 12 people have died after shelling levelled a row of homes in the city of Ganja, with 40 more wounded in a sharp escalation of the conflict with Armenia over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azeri prosecutor general’s office said that two shells hit apartment buildings in the country’s second largest city. There has been no official reaction from Armenia as yet. The attack on Saturday, which saw a second strike in another part of Ganja and a third reach the nearby strategic city of Mingecevir, came hours after Azerbaijani forces shelled the ethic Armenian separatist region’s capital, Stepanakert. The spike in violence further undermines international efforts to calm a resurgence of fighting between Christian Armenians and Muslim Azerbaijanis before it draws in regional powers Russia and Turkey. Reporters in Ganja saw rows of houses turned to rubble by the shelling, and a rescue team remove black bags containing body parts from the scene. The strike shattered the walls and ripped the roofs off buildings in the surrounding streets. People ran outside in shock and tears, stumbling through muddy alleys in their slippers, some wearing bathroom robes and pajamas. One witness said he saw rescuers pull a small child, two women and four men from the debris in the minutes immediately after the strike. “We were sleeping. The kids were watching TV,” Rubaba Zhafarova, 65, said in front of her destroyed house. “All the houses around here are destroyed. Many people are under the rubble. Some are dead, some are wounded.” The attack came only six days after a missile struck another residential part of the city of more than 300,000 people, killing 10 civilians. Hikmat Hajiyev, an assistant to Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev, tweeted that according to “initial information, more than 20 houses were destroyed” on Saturday. Rescuers periodically called for silence so they could detect sounds of survivors as the hours passed, pulling out passports, keys, bracelets and items of clothing from the debris. They called in sniffer dogs and watered down the suffocating columns of dust with hoses from a fire truck. “My wife was there, my wife was there,” one man cried inconsolably while being walked toward an ambulance by a paramedic. At around the same time in the city of Mingecevir, an hour’s drive north of Ganja, reporters heard the impact of a huge blast that shook buildings. Mingecevir is protected by a missile defence system because it is home to a strategic dam, and it was not immediately clear if the missile was destroyed in the air or had made impact. The defence ministry said Mingecevir had come “under fire”, but provided no other immediate details. An Azerbaijani official said that a second missile hit a separate, industrial district of Ganja at around the same time. No immediate details about that second attack were known. The decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict re-erupted on 27 September in hotly disputed circumstances and has so far killed more than 700 people, including nearly 80 civilians. The mountainous western region of Azerbaijan has remained under separatist ethnic Armenian control since a 1994 ceasefire ended a brutal war that killed 30,000. But Armenia, which backs Nagorno-Karabakh but does not recognise its independence, has admitted that Azerbaijani forces have made important gains along the front in the past week. The current escalation is the deadliest and longest since that six-year conflict. The shelling of Stepanakert and the strikes on Ganja followed a joint call from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday to “end the bloodshed as soon as possible”.;A
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Azeri soldiers charged with war crimes;"Azerbaijan has said it has charged two of its soldiers with mutilating the bodies of Armenian soldiers during the recent conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The men allegedly filmed their actions and posted the videos on social media. Two other soldiers were arrested on suspicion of destroying tombstones belonging to Armenians. The Azerbaijani prosecutor general said the incidents were ""contrary to the mentality of the Azerbaijani people"". Azerbaijan and Armenia have also announced the start of a prisoner exchange, with some returns already beginning on Monday. ""Forty-four of our prisoners of war will soon return to Armenia by Russian aircraft,"" Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Facebook. Nagorno-Karabakh has long been a trigger for violence between the two countries. The region is recognised as part of Azerbaijan but has been run by ethnic Armenians since 1994 after the two countries fought a war over the territory which left thousands dead. The latest conflict began at the end of September, killing around 5,000 soldiers on both sides. At least 143 civilians died and thousands were displaced when their homes were damaged or soldiers entered their communities. A Russian-brokered truce failed to bring about lasting peace and the area, claimed by both sides, has been prone to intermittent clashes. Both countries have accused the other of violating the terms of the November peace deal and the latest hostilities flout the ceasefire. Azerbaijan's defence ministry said on Sunday that four of its soldiers had been killed in new clashes. Armenia said six of its own troops had been wounded in what it called an Azerbaijani military offensive.";E
UK;Azerbaijan claims to have captured key town in Nagorno-Karabakh;Azerbaijan has said it has recaptured the symbolic town of Shusha, a claim denied by Armenian officials as fighting in the bloody six-week-old battle over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory appeared to reach an apex. “[This day] will become a great day in the history of Azerbaijan,” said Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, in a televised address. His announcement on Sunday was greeted with celebrations on the streets of Baku as Azerbaijanis gathered to wave flags and sing. Officials from the Nagorno-Karabakh administration and Armenia’s defence ministry denied Aliyev’s statement, saying heavy fighting continued in the vicinity of the town, known in Armenian as Shushi. “Shushi remains an unattainable pipe dream for Azerbaijan. Despite heavy destruction, the fortress city withstands the blows of the enemy,” the Nagorno-Karabakh rescue service said. As many as 5,000 people have died since Azerbaijan launched an offensive in late September to reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountain enclave, internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory but under the de facto control of Armenians since a ceasefire was agreed between the two former Soviet neighbours in 1994. The war is complicated by the growing rivalry between Turkey and Russia for regional dominance. Azerbaijan has the outright support of Ankara, while Moscow, which sells arms to both sides, appears wary of honouring its military pact with Armenia if the violence extends outside the disputed territory. Shusha, Nagorno-Karabakh’s second biggest settlement, is a mountaintop town that was mostly populated by Azeris before the 1990s war. It is strategically located on the main corridor connecting the territory with Armenia and regarded by both sides as an important spiritual centre. Its Armenian Orthodox cathedral was hit by Azerbaijani shelling in October. On Sunday, unconfirmed reports surfaced that the Yukhari Govhar Agha mosque – which Azeris have been unable to access for almost 30 years – has also been damaged by shelling. The town could serve as a key staging post for an Azerbaijani assault on the enclave’s largest city, Stepanakert. Both have come under heavy shelling in recent days, including in civilian areas – claims denied by Azerbaijan’s defence ministry. Most of Stepanakert’s 150,000-strong population has already fled the violence, but as Azerbaijani forces drew closer over the weekend many of those who chose to stay also packed their belongings into cars, traffic choking up the only road out of the territory. The civilian cost in the bloodiest fighting in more than 25 years in the Caucasus has been high on both sides, with 54 Armenian civilians and 91 Azerbaijani civilians killed as Armenia retaliates by hitting Azerbaijani cities far from the frontlines. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilian areas and the use of banned cluster-bomb munitions. Emboldened by Turkish support, Azerbaijan has gained the upper hand in the conflict, retaking much of the land in and around Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia that it lost in the previous war. Much of the gains are due to Azerbaijan’s state-of-the-art military hardware, including the use of Turkish- and Israeli-made drones. Aliyev vowed on Sunday to continue the offensive until Armenia completely withdraws from the territory. Azerbaijan’s chief ally, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, congratulated Aliyev on his Shusha victory later on Sunday. “I congratulate my Azeri brothers’ Shusha victory … I believe [it] is a sign that the rest of the occupied lands will be liberated soon too,” said Erdoğan, addressing crowds in Turkey’s north-west province of Kocaeli. Two Russian and one US brokered ceasefire to date have done nothing to stop the hostilities, with each side immediately accusing the other of violations. The fierce fighting over the weekend comes amid reports that Ankara and Moscow have drawn up a draft ceasefire deal under which Armenia would surrender five of the seven Azerbaijani regions it currently occupies and agree to the establishment of a new corridor connecting Baku to the Azerbaijan territory of Nakhchivan, which is surrounded by Armenian land. Turkish and Russian peacekeeping forces would then be deployed to uphold the ceasefire, Middle East Eye reported.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan 'takes key town' in Armenia conflict;"Azerbaijan has taken a key town in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to the country's president.Ilham Aliyev announced in a televised address on Sunday that Azerbaijani forces had gained control of Shusha, known as Shushi in Armenian.Armenia, however, denied the town's loss and said fighting was ongoing.Taking the strategically important town would be a major victory for Azerbaijan in the ongoing conflict over the disputed territory.Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but is governed by ethnic Armenians backed by the Armenian government.A war between the two countries over the region ended in 1994 with a truce but no peace deal.Fresh fighting erupted in September, with each side blaming the other for the outbreak in violence.What's the latest on the ground?Shusha sits on hills above the territory's capital Stepanakert (known as Khankendi in Azerbaijan) and lies on the road linking the city with Armenian territory. If taken, it could serve as a staging post for an assault on the capital.President Aliyev said the ""liberation"" of Shusha would ""go down in the history of the Azerbaijani people"".""There is no force in the world that can stop us,"" he said, pledging to retake Nagorno-Karabakh for his country.In an interview made before the latest developments from Shusha, Mr Aliyev told the BBC's Orla Guerin said Armenia was running out of time.""Their opportunities to compromise are shrinking because we are getting those territories back by force,"" he said.Azerbaijan has been steadily advancing into Nagorno-Karabakh in recent weeks, as a BBC map from 27 October shows.Armenia, however, has denied the town has been taken by Azerbaijan. ""The battles in Shushi continue - wait and believe in our troops,"" Armenian defence ministry official Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote on Facebook.And David Babayan, a foreign policy adviser to Nagorno-Karabakh's self-declared president Arayik Harutyunyan, told the BBC: ""We can say that Shushi is a battlefield and there are Azeri troops and Karabakh troops there, fighting each other for every building.""Before Azerbaijan's announcement, Armenian defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan wrote that ""the most ferocious combat"" had taken place around Shusha overnight.She said a number of Azerbaijani soldiers, tanks and other vehicles had been destroyed in the fighting.Disinformation spreads amid Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict'Execution' video prompts Karabakh war crime probeShusha has cultural significance for both sides. Its population was predominantly Azerbaijani before the war in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which forced hundreds of thousands to flee.For Armenians it is the home of the Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral, an iconic site for the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of targeting the building last month.Both sides deny targeting civilians but accuse the other of doing so.It is unclear exactly how many have died. Nagorno-Karabakh's authorities say nearly 1,200 of its defence forces have died in the fighting, and civilians have also been killed or injured.Azerbaijan has not released its military casualty figures but has said more than 80 civilians have been killed in the fighting - including 21 in a missile strike on the town of Barda last month.Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that almost 5,000 people had been killed in the fighting.What's been the reaction?People poured onto the streets of the Azerbaijani capital Baku in celebration, honking car horns, chanting slogans and waving the national flag.Reuters news agency reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has congratulated ""my Azeri brothers"", telling a crowd in Turkey's Kocaeli province that he thought what was happening in Shusha was ""a sign that the rest of the occupied lands will be liberated soon too"".Azerbaijan is an ally of Turkey's, and Mr Erdogan has pledged his nation's total support for Azerbaijan in the conflict.On Saturday the Turkish president told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Armenia must withdraw from Azerbaijan's land and ""must be convinced to sit down at the negotiating table"".A statement from the Kremlin said Mr Putin had told Mr Erdogan that he had spoken to leaders from both Armenia and Azerbaijan, focusing on ""finding options for a swift cessation of hostilities and a political and diplomatic settlement"".International powers have made repeated attempts to broker a ceasefire in recent weeks.Russia - which is allied to Armenia but has close ties to Azerbaijan - negotiated two truces last month which were both broken almost immediately, while both sides accused the other of violating a US-brokered ceasefire announced on 25 October within minutes of it coming into force.";N
UK;Azerbaijan fully reclaims lands around Nagorno-Karabakh;"Azerbaijan on Tuesday completed reclaiming territory ceded by Armenia under a Russia-brokered peace deal that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed the restoration of control over the areas as a historic achievement. “We all lived with one dream and now we fulfilled it,"" Aliyev said in an address to the nation. “We won a victory on the battlefield and on the political arena, and that victory opens a new era for our country. It will be an era of development, security and progress."" Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but large chunks of surrounding lands in Armenian hands. In 44 days of heavy fighting that began on Sept. 27, the Azerbaijani military routed Armenian forces and wedged deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept a Russia-brokered peace deal that took effect Nov. 10. The agreement saw the return of a significant part of Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijan's control and also requested Armenia to hand over all of the regions it held outside the separatist region. The Lachin region, which lies between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, was the last of the three areas on the rim of Nagorno-Karabakh to be surrendered by Armenian forces on Tuesday. Russia deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace deal and help the return of refugees. The Russian troops will also ensure safe transit between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia across the Lachin region. In 44 days of heavy fighting that began on Sept. 27, the Azerbaijani military routed Armenian forces and wedged deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept a Russia-brokered peace deal that took effect Nov. 10. The agreement saw the return of a significant part of Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijan's control and also requested Armenia to hand over all of the regions it held outside the separatist region. The Lachin region, which lies between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, was the last of the three areas on the rim of Nagorno-Karabakh to be surrendered by Armenian forces on Tuesday. Russia deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace deal and help the return of refugees. The Russian troops will also ensure safe transit between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia across the Lachin region. The peace agreement was celebrated as a victory in Azerbaijan, but sparked mass protests in Armenia, with thousands taking to the streets to demand the ouster of the country’s prime minister.";A
UK;Azerbaijan slams French Senate's vote on Nagorno-Karabakh;"Azerbaijani officials have criticized a resolution adopted by the French Senate that urges the French government to recognize the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent republic. The resolution, adopted on Wednesday, is symbolic and does not mean the French government will recognize a sovereign Nagorno-Karabakh, but sends a message of support to France’s large Armenian community. No U.N. member state recognizes the region, over which Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decades-long conflict, as independent. Nevertheless, the move elicited outrage in Azerbaijan, which has previously criticized France for taking a “pro-Armenian” stand in the dispute. Several dozen people protested in front of the French embassy in the capital, Baku on Thursday, chanting “France, be fair!” Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Wednesday that the document can only be seen ""as a provocation"" and stressed that it “has no legal force.” Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev denounced the resolution Thursday as a “piece of paper adopted to serve narrow political ambitions,"" and said that France's “open pro-Armenian position... has become one of the main factors hindering the peaceful resolution of the conflict."" Azerbaijan's parliament urged the country's government to reach out to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in order to revoke France's status as a co-chair of the Minsk Group set up by the Organization to mediate the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The parliament also called on the government “to reconsider existing political relations” with France. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands. Heavy fighting that erupted in late September marked the biggest escalation of a long-simmering conflict between the two ex-Soviet nations. The violence was halted by a Russian-brokered truce two weeks ago. The agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control to Azerbaijan of some areas it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders and was celebrated in Baku as a major victory. Two out of three territories mentioned in the agreement have already been handed over to Azerbaijan.";A
UK;Half of Nagorno-Karabakh population displaced by Armenia and Azerbaijan clashes;Clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have displaced half of the population of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to its rights ombudsman, as international mediators were set to hold their first meeting in Geneva. Russian president, Vladimir Putin, urged an end to a “huge tragedy” in an interview with state-run television on Wednesday, as new strikes hit Karabakh’s main city Stepanakert and Armenia said the fighting was raging along the entire frontline. Even if the longstanding conflict over the ethnic Armenian separatist region could not be resolved, a ceasefire must be agreed “as quickly as possible”, Putin said. A few hours later Azerbaijan said its foreign minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, would visit Geneva on Thursday and meet leaders of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Minsk group, which is jointly chaired by diplomats from France, Russia, and the United States. The fighting in one of the most lingering conflicts resulting from the fall of the Soviet Union erupted again on 27 September, with Azerbaijan insisting the region must return to its control. Clashes had lasted “all day, along the whole front line and are continuing at the moment”, with the fiercest fighting in the south of Karabakh, Armenian defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan told journalists, quoted by Russia’s Tass news agency. Intermittent shelling by Azerbaijan’s forces has turned Stepanakert into a ghost town dotted with unexploded munitions and shell craters. Much of Stepanakert’s 50,000-strong population has left, with those remaining hunkering down in cellars. “According to our preliminary estimates, some 50% of Karabakh’s population and 90% of women and children – or some 70,000-75,000 people – have been displaced,” Karabakh’s rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan told AFP Wednesday. Azerbaijan has accused Armenian forces of shelling civilian targets in urban areas, including its second-largest city of Ganja. Dozens of civilians have been confirmed killed in the fighting and the Armenian side has acknowledged more than 300 military deaths. Azerbaijan has not admitted to any fatalities among its troops. Azerbaijani prosecutors said 427 dwellings populated by roughly 1,200 people had been destroyed. The OSCE’s Minsk group has sought a solution to the conflict since the 1990s. Armenia ruled out its foreign minister, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, meeting his Azerbaijani counterpart in Geneva, however, saying “it is impossible to hold negotiations with one hand and continue military operations with the other”. Russia announced its defence minister Sergei Shoigu had held talks with both his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts on Wednesday evening, without giving details. The conflict has drawn in regional powers, with French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, warning that Turkey’s backing of Azerbaijan risks fuelling the “internationalisation” of the conflict. Le Drian, speaking to the French parliament, accused Azerbaijan of initiating the current conflict and lamented “the large number of civilian victims for the sake of meagre progress” on the ground. Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in a war in the early 1990s that claimed the lives of some 30,000 people. The Armenian separatists declared independence. The region’s 140,000 inhabitants are now almost exclusively Armenians after the remaining Azerbaijanis left during the war. However, the international community regards it as part of Azerbaijan and no state, including Armenia itself, recognises its independence. Sporadic fighting has erupted frequently since a May 1994 ceasefire, most notably in 2016. But analysts say Turkey’s involvement this time has changed the landscape. Turkey has reportedly sent pro-Ankara Syrian fighters to boost Azerbaijan forces and also home-produced drones that have already been deployed with success in Libya and Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 1,200 fighters have been sent and at least 64 have died. “The new aspect is that there is military involvement by Turkey which risks fuelling the internationalisation of the conflict,” Le Drian said. Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said on Tuesday the world should back Azerbaijan as “the side of those who are right”, describing Armenia as the “occupier”. Russia has cordial relations and sells arms to both sides. But it has a military base in Armenia and Yerevan is a member of a Russia-led regional security group while Baku is not. Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, said he was confident Russia would come to its aid because of the two countries’ membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation military alliance (CTSO). Putin in his interview emphasised that Moscow would fulfil its obligations, which analysts sometimes describe as a Russian Nato. But he noted: “The hostilities, which to our great regret, continue to this day, are not taking place on the territory of Armenia.”;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: 'It's too painful to sleep';Fighting has ended in and around Nagorno-Karabakh but some civilians are still suffering. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have been accused of using banned cluster bombs. Both sides deny using them. Human rights groups have verified their use and called their deployment a flagrant disregard for civilian life. As part of the deal to stop the conflict, regions surrounding the disputed territory that were taken by Armenian forces in the 1990s are being returned to Azerbaijan. Produced by BBC Azeri correspondents Gunel Safarova, Seadet Akifgizi and Jamila Ibrahimova.;A
UK;Fighting over separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region continues;Fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh entered sixth week on Sunday, with Armenian and Azerbaijani forces blaming each other for new attacks. Nagorno-Karabakh officials accused Azerabaijan of targeting the town of Martuni with military aviation and several other areas with missile strikes overnight. Azerbaijani forces continued shelling the region's civilian settlements in the morning, the Nagorno-Karabakh military said. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, in turn, accused Armenian forces of firing at the positions of the Azerbaijani army on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border. The ministry also said Armenian forces were shelling settlements in the regions of Terter and Aghjabedi. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The latest outburst of hostilities began Sept. 27 and left hundreds — if not thousands — dead, marking the worst escalation of the decades-old conflict between the two ex-Soviet nations in over quarter century. According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,166 of their troops and 45 civilians have been killed. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed at least 91 civilians and wounded 400. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, according to Moscow’s information, the actual death toll was significantly higher and nearing 5,000. The fighting has continued after three cease-fires failed to hold and despite calls for peace from around the globe. In the most recent attempt to defuse tensions, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met Friday in Geneva for a day of talks brokered by Russia, the United States and France, co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that tries to mediate the conflict. The talks concluded with the two sides agreeing they “will not deliberately target civilian populations or non-military objects in accordance with international humanitarian law,” but the agreement was quickly challenged by reports of shelling of civilian settlements. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said to end hostilities Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh. He repeatedly criticized the Minsk Group for not producing progress and insisted that Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force since international mediators have failed. Azerbaijani troops, which have relied on strike drones and long-range rocket systems supplied by Turkey, have reclaimed control of several regions on the fringes of Nagorno-Karabakh and pressed their offensive into the separatist territory from the south. On Thursday, Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist leader said Azerbaijani troops had advanced to within 5 kilometers ( 3 miles) of the strategically located town of Shushi just south of the region’s capital, Stepanakert, which sits on the main road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. Aliyev met Sunday with the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baku and said that if negotiations don't secure Armenia's withdrawal, “we will continue to restore our territorial integrity by any means and, as I said, we will go to the end.”;E
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh conflict killed 5,000 soldiers;For more than six weeks, Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a bloody war, but few details emerged of the true scale of military casualties. Azerbaijan made significant territorial gains but gave no casualty numbers, while Armenia said last month it had counted 2,425 dead soldiers. Now Azerbaijan says 2,783 of its forces died in the Nagorno-Karabakh war and another 100 are missing in action. It brings to over 5,000 the number of soldiers confirmed to have died. At least 143 civilians were also killed on both sides and tens of thousands more were displaced by the fighting. The war broke out between the two former Soviet republics in late September. The two countries had never resolved the territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan but under the control of neighbouring Armenia. The violence came to an end with a Moscow-brokered agreement for Armenian forces to pull out of three areas of Azerbaijani territory in and around Karabakh, and for 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to be deployed. What do we know? Three weeks after the end of the war, the defence ministry in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, has for the first time given details of the servicemen killed in the conflict. As well as the 2,783 soldiers killed between 27 September and 10 November, more than 100 soldiers were missing in action and DNA tests were being carried out to identify 103 bodies, Turan news agency reported. Another 1,245 wounded soldiers were being treated in hospital, the ministry said. Reports from Baku say a victory parade is being planned for 10 December. Families on both sides are still waiting to hear news of missing relatives. During the conflict, Armenian officials gave regular details of their military casualties but also made uncorroborated claims about Azerbaijani casualties. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has come under intense pressure from protesters and opposition parties for agreeing the peace deal that left soldiers and civilians leaving three areas. Seventeen political parties have called for his resignation and for a new prime minister to be appointed. Russian officials said this week that more than 26,000 refugees had returned to their homes in Karabakh since peacekeepers had been deployed in the so-called Lachin corridor that connects the territory to Armenia.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: UK and Canada joint statement in response to continued military clashes;Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and the Canadian Foreign Minister François-Phillippe Champagne said:Canada and the United Kingdom reiterate the urgent need to end the continuing military action in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.We are particularly concerned by reports of the shelling of civilian areas and wish to express our condolences to the families of those who have tragically lost their lives. The parties to the conflict must stop the violence and respect the ceasefire agreement.We firmly support the statements made by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. We urge all external parties and friends of both states to redouble their efforts in support of an end to hostilities and to refrain from taking actions that risk exacerbating the crisis.A comprehensive resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is overdue. That can only be delivered through a negotiated settlement and not through military action. All parties must urgently return to the negotiating table to work toward this aim without preconditions.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh conflict flares despite ceasefire;"Four soldiers from Azerbaijan have been killed in clashes in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan's defence ministry says. The reports come only weeks after a six-week war over the territory which ended when Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire. Armenia meanwhile said six of its own troops were wounded in what it called an Azerbaijani military offensive. Nagorno-Karabakh has long been a trigger for violence between the two. The region is recognised as part of Azerbaijan but has been run by ethnic Armenians since 1994 after the two countries fought a war over the territory which left thousands dead. A Russian-brokered truce failed to bring about lasting peace and the area, claimed by both sides, has been prone to intermittent clashes. What does the peace deal say? Signed on 9 November, it locked in the territorial gains Azerbaijan made during the war, including the region's second-largest city Shusha. Armenia promised to withdraw troops from three areas. 2,000 Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region Azerbaijan also gained a overland route to Turkey, its ally, by gaining access to a road link to an Azeri conflict on the Iran-Turkey border called Nakhchivan The BBC's Orla Guerin said that, overall, the deal was regarded as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia Presentational grey line. The latest conflict began at the end of September, killing around 5,000 soldiers on both sides. At least 143 civilians died and thousands were displaced when their homes were damaged or soldiers entered their communities. Why did Armenia and Azerbaijan go to war? Russian influence under threat in its own backyard. Both countries have accused the other of violating the terms of the November peace deal and the latest hostilities flout the ceasefire. The agreement was described by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as ""incredibly painful both for me and both for our people"".";N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh conflict increases as Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of firing several missiles;"Heavy fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh continued Thursday with Armenia and Azerbaijan trading blame for new attacks, hostilities that raised the threat of Turkey and Russia being drawn into the conflict. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry accused Armenia of firing several ballistic missiles from its territory at the Azerbaijani cities of Gabala, Siyazan and Kurdamir, which are located far from the area of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. It said there were no casuaLties. The Armenian military rejected the claim as a “cynical lie.” Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The current fighting that started on Sept. 27 already has killed hundreds, marking the biggest escalation in the conflict since the war’s end. Two Russia-brokered cease-fires collapsed instantly after taking effect, and the warring parties have continued to exchange blows with heavy artillery, rockets and drones. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that to end hostilities Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh. He has insisted that Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force since nearly three decades of international mediation hasn't yielded progress. Russia, the United States and France have co-chaired the so-called Minsk Group set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to mediate in the conflict, but their attempts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian retorted Wednesday that Azerbaijan’s aggressive stance effectively amounts to the demand that the Nagorno-Karabakh region surrenders, leaving no room for diplomacy. “There is no way now to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh issue through diplomacy,” Pashinian said, emphasizing that “there is no Armenia without Nagorno-Karabakh.” The Armenian leader accused Turkey of encouraging Azerbaijan's attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and blocking any attempt at a cease-fire. Turkey, a NATO member, has strongly defended its ally’s right to reclaim its lands by force, and jockeyed for a higher-profile diplomatic role in the conflict. Strike drones and long-range rocket systems supplied by Turkey in previous years have given the Azerbaijani military a strong edge on the battlefield. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay warned Wednesday that Ankara won't hesitate to send troops to Azerbaijan if such a request is made by Baku. “Azerbaijan and Turkey have agreements on military cooperation,” he said on CNN Turk. “ If Armenia takes unexpected steps and there is a request from Baku to send troops, Turkey will not hesitate.” Russia, which has a military base in Armenia and a security pact obliging Moscow to protect its ally, has been involved in a delicate balancing act, trying to also maintain good ties with Azerbaijan and avoid a showdown with Turkey. A Russian lawmaker, Konstantin Zatulin, argued Thursday that Moscow should intervene militarily to protect Armenia, but the Kremlin dismissed the call. Asked about Zatulin's statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, responded that “there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement."" Commenting on Turkey's clamoring for a bigger mediation role in the conflict, Peskov said that such mediation must be accepted by both warring parties. Armenia has categorically rejected Turkey's involvement because of its support for Azerbaijan.";N
UK;Human rights groups detail 'war crimes' in Nagorno-Karabakh;Human rights organisations have raised the alarm after the emergence of videos of torture, beheadings, and other abuses, much of it shared over social networks, from the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. In a report on Thursday, Amnesty International said it had authenticated 22 videos from the conflict that depict extrajudicial executions, the mistreatment of prisoners of war and other captives, and desecration of the dead bodies of enemy soldiers. Amnesty said it had digitally verified videos showing decapitations and the desecration of corpses, although it stopped short of identifying many of the victims or the circumstances of their deaths. In particular, the report documented the execution by decapitation of two Armenian civilians and the cutting of an Azerbaijani border guard’s throat and urged both countries to investigate what it described as war crimes. “The depravity and lack of humanity captured in these videos shows the deliberate intention to cause ultimate harm and humiliation to victims, in clear violation of international humanitarian law,” said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s research director for eastern Europe and central Asia, in the report. Earlier, Human Rights Watch released a report documenting how Azerbaijani forces had subjected Armenian prisoners of war to physical abuse and humiliation, including beating and slapping, in videos later shared online. Those cases had been verified with family members identifying the victims. Videos of the beheadings had been harder to confirm because they had been stripped of metadata showing where and when they were taken. An Armenian human rights lawyer said that the country had taken more than 80 cases of mistreatment to the European court of human rights, and that the body of at least one captive was returned bearing signs of torture. The report came as Azerbaijan celebrated its victory in the conflict by staging a major military parade in central Baku, with thousands of soldiers parading past the president, Ilham Aliyev, and Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who supported the country in the war. Also on display were Turkish Bayraktar TB2 armed drones that played a key role in the war. In a speech, both Erdoğan and Aliyev indicated that the two countries would continue to press their territorial ambitions in the region. “Azerbaijan’s saving its lands from occupation does not mean that the struggle is over,” Erdoğan said during the parade, according to a translation provided by France 24. “The struggle carried out in the political and military areas will continue from now on many other fronts.” The latest war over the disputed territory ended one month ago in a Russian-brokered ceasefire that granted considerable territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Both sides reported more than 2,700 soldiers killed, although the actual number may be higher. Russian peacekeepers have been deployed to the region, which had been run by an Armenian-backed local government since a bloody war in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Russia deploys peacekeeping troops to region;"Hundreds of Russian peacekeeping troops have been deployed to the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, following a deal to end conflict in the region. Heavy fighting between Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces had been ongoing for weeks, until both sides agreed to a Russian-brokered peace deal on Monday. The enclave is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani but has been run by ethnic Armenians since 1994. The peace deal sparked jubilant scenes in Azerbaijan and fury in Armenia. Under its terms, Azerbaijan will hold on to several areas that it has taken during the conflict. Armenia also agreed to withdraw from several other adjacent areas over the next few weeks. The BBC's Orla Guerin in Baku says that, overall, the deal should be read as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia. Protesters in Armenia have damaged official buildings and called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. What else has been agreed? The peace deal, which was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's prime minister, took effect on Tuesday from 01:00 local time (21:00 GMT Monday). During a televised online address, President Putin said that Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to patrol the front line. Ten aircraft carrying the first wave of troops took off from an airbase in Ulyanovsk early on Tuesday. At least 2,000 Russian soldiers will eventually be active in the region and they will guard the ""Lachin corridor"" which links the Karabakh capital, Stepanakert, to Armenia. Ninety armoured personnel carriers will also deploy as part of the renewable five-year mission. Mr Putin said the agreement would include an exchange of war prisoners, with ""all economical and transport contacts to be unblocked."" Moscow is in a military alliance with Armenia and has an army base there, but it also has close ties with Azerbaijan and it has been selling weapons to both countries. Turkey, which has openly backed Azerbaijan, will also take part in the peacekeeping process, according to Azerbaijan's president who joined Mr Putin during the address. However the exact role Turkey will play is unclear.";N
UK;Ongoing military action along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh region: UK statement;I’d like to thank the Albanian Chairmanship for calling today’s Special Permanent Council. I’d also like to thank Ambassador Kasprzyk for his report.The UK is deeply concerned by the ongoing military action along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the humanitarian impact it is having not only on the lives of the people who live there but also regional stability. We are particularly concerned about reports of civilian casualties.I would like to offer my condolences to the families of all those who have been killed. We particularly regret that this conflict is escalating when the world should be uniting to defeat the Coronavirus pandemic and the UN Secretary General has called for a global ceasefire for the last 100 days of 2020.We strongly support the efforts of the Minsk Group Co-chairs and the Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office to stabilise the situation and we urge the sides to refrain from any acts or rhetoric that could further aggravate tensions on the ground. We express solidarity and support with the statements made by Chairperson-in-Office, Prime Minister Rama, and by the Minsk Group Co-chairs. We are reinforcing their calls for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire to hostilities in our engagements with actors in the region.There can be no military solution to this conflict. A sustainable peace can only be brought about by a negotiated settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan and we urge them both to return to the negotiating table and engage with the Minsk Group co-chairs without any preconditions.We urge all international partners to support an end to hostilities and to press for a return to negotiations towards a peaceful settlement.Finally, I would like to reiterate full support for vital role of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and their work towards finding resolution to the crisis.;N
UK;Armenia-Azerbaijan: Why did Nagorno-Karabakh spark a conflict?;"It brings to an end six weeks of fierce fighting in which thousands of people were reported killed and many more displaced. At the heart of the conflict was the Nagorno-Karabakh region. It is recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but it is controlled by ethnic Armenians. The two countries fought a bloody war over the region in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and it has been the trigger for further violence in the years since. The story in 100 words Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, but its population is majority Armenian. As the Soviet Union saw increasing tensions in its constituent republics in the 1980s, Nagorno-Karabakh voted to become part of Armenia - sparking a war that stopped with a ceasefire in 1994. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh has remained part of Azerbaijan but is controlled by separatist ethnic Armenians backed by the Armenian government. Until recently, negotiations mediated by international powers had failed to deliver a peace agreement. Armenia is majority Christian while Azerbaijan is majority Muslim. Turkey has close ties to Azerbaijan, while Russia is allied with Armenia - although it also has good relations with Azerbaijan. The story in 600 words The Caucasus is a strategically important mountainous region in south-east Europe. For centuries, different powers in the region - both Christian and Muslim - have vied for control there. Modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union when it formed in the 1920s. Nagorno-Karabakh was an ethnic-majority Armenian region, but the Soviets gave control over the area to Azerbaijani authorities. It was only as the Soviet Union began to collapse in the late 1980s that Nagorno-Karabakh's regional parliament officially voted to become part of Armenia. Azerbaijan sought to suppress the separatist movement, while Armenia backed it. This led to ethnic clashes, and - after Armenia and Azerbaijan declared independence from Moscow - a full-scale war. Tens of thousands died and up to a million were displaced amid reports of ethnic cleansing and massacres committed by both sides. Most of those displaced in the war were Azerbaijanis. Armenian forces gained control of Nagorno-Karabakh and areas adjacent to it before a Russian-brokered ceasefire was declared in 1994. After that deal, Nagorno-Karabakh remained part of Azerbaijan, but since then has mostly been governed by a separatist, self-declared republic, run by ethnic Armenians and backed by the Armenian government. It also established the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact, separating Armenian and Azerbaijan forces. Peace talks have taken place since then, mediated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group - a body set up in 1992 and chaired by France, Russia and the United States. But clashes continued, and a serious flare-up in 2016 saw the deaths of dozens of troops on both sides. The conflict is further complicated by geopolitics. Nato member-state Turkey was the first nation to recognise Azerbaijan's independence in 1991. Former Azeri President Heydar Aliyev once described the two as ""one nation with two states"". Both share a Turkic culture and populations. Moreover, Turkey has no official relations with Armenia. In 1993 Turkey shut its border with Armenia in support of Azerbaijan during the war over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia meanwhile has had good relations with Russia. There is a Russian military base in Armenia, and both are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) military alliance. However, President Vladimir Putin also has maintained good relations with Azerbaijan. In 2018, Armenia underwent a peaceful revolution, sweeping long-time ruler Serzh Sargsyan from power. Protest leader Nikol Pashinyan became the prime minister after free elections that year. Mr Pashinyan agreed with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to de-escalate tensions and set up the first military hotline between the two countries. But in August 2019 Mr Pashinyan told crowds of ethnic Armenians assembled in the main city in Karabakh, Stepanakert, that ""Artsakh is Armenia, full stop."" Artsakh is the Armenian name for Karabakh. The remarks angered Azerbaijan and were repeatedly condemned by President Aliyev. Fighting broke out in July this year on the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, some 300km (185 miles) away from Nagorno-Karabakh. By the end of the month Turkey's military was taking part in large-scale joint exercises in Azerbaijan. The latest conflict broke out on 27 September. Armenia said Azerbaijan fired the first shots. Azerbaijan said it was launching a ""counter-offensive"" in response to Armenian aggression. Fighting came to an end in November when both sides agreed to sign a Russian-brokered peace deal. Under its terms, Azerbaijan holds on to several areas that it gained control of during the conflict and Armenia will withdraw troops from them. Almost 2,000 Russian peacekeepers will monitor the truce.";A
UK;'WE'RE PRAYING' Kim Kardashian blasts Azerbaijan’s ‘unprovoked attacks’ on Armenia as border clashes leave 53 dead;"KIM Kardashian has called for international efforts to keep the peace as a border conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan killed more than 50 people in two days. The reality TV megastar - who is of Armenian heritage - condemned the ""unprovoked attacks"" after the Azeri military launched an assault wit helicopter gunships yesterday. Another 30 people were reported killed today following 23 on Sunday in the fiercest fighting for years in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The breakaway region - also known as Artsakh - is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is controlled by ethnic Armenians. Turkey was accused of sending F-16 jets and mercenaries to assist its Azeri allies as the skirmishes threatened to escalate into all-out war. Kim K said on Twitter: ""Please share the news Armenians in #Arstakh have been attacked. We are praying brave men & women risking their lives to protect Artsakh & #Armenia."" She added: ""The news is misleading & these are not 'clashes'. Armenia has been the victim of unprovoked attacks by Azerbaijan & the predictable disinformation campaign that accompanies them. ""We need international observers to investigate & call for international political and diplomatic measures to prevent unnecessary escalation & tragedy."" She also called on her 67million followers to contact senators and congressmen demanding the US cut off military aid to oil-rich Azerbaijan. Kim's father Robert Kardashian - a lawyer who represented OJ Simpson - was from an Armenian immigrant family who moved to the US. Armenia has declared martial law and mobilised all men of fighting age after it accused Azerbaijan of unprovoked strikes on Sunday morning. It said 16 soldiers were killed and 100 injured and civilians were also hurt. Armenian forces claimed they had shot down seven Azeri helicopters and 15 drones and destroyed 13 tanks. Azerbaijan blamed Armenia for starting the fighting. It claimed shelling over the border killed Azeri civilians including five members of the same family. It said it then launched a ""necessary counter-offensive"" and had ""liberated"" parts of the territory, which Armenia denied. At least 30 more people died on a second day of heavy clashes as each side pounded the other with rockets and artillery, Reuters reported. Videos released by the two militaries claimed to show tanks being blown up from the air. One apparently shows an Azeri TB-2 drone, made in Turkey, tracking an Armenian T-72 tank across the battlefield before it explodes, killing the crew of three. Turkey - a historic enemy of Christian Armenia - has stationed F-16 jets and other military hardware in Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev said he was confident of regaining control over the disputed mountainous region. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged support for his ally, urging the world to stand with the country in its ""battle against invasion and cruelty"". Today amid claims Turkish mercenaries were being deployed, there were calls for 20,000 Armenian volunteers to travel from their homes in Russia to join the fighting. President Putin - Armenia's traditional ally - called for both sides to cease fighting. The region has strategic importance and hosts oil pipelines from the Caspian Sea to the world markets. It is the latest violence in a 30-year conflict that began with the break-up of the Soviet Union when both states gained independence. Nagorno-Karabakh voted to split from Azerbaijan, sparking a civil war that only ended with a ceasefire in 1994. Tens of thousands died in the fighting and a million people were displaced. There have been several serious flare-ups since including the ""four day war"" that killed nearly 200 people in 2014.";E
UK;Trench warfare, drones and cowering civilians: on the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh;Over the road from the 8-metre-deep crater left by a medium-range missile, Sergei Hovhnnesyan and three of his neighbours are hunkering down in the basement storage space of their local grocery shop in Stepanakert, a mountain town in the heart of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Whenever there is a gap in the airstrikes and shelling, their elderly legs make the trip up the stairs to bring down enough provisions to survive what could turn into a siege as the two ex-Soviet neighbours go to war once again. About 70,000 Armenians in Nagarno-Karabakh have fled the poorly aimed Azerbaijani rockets and drones, which appear to have hit civilian neighbourhoods more often than infrastructure and military bases. Those who stay – many of them from older generations like Sergei and his friends – say they would rather die than abandon their homes to Azerbaijan. Updates on the fighting arrive via the chime of WhatsApp messages and news bulletins on the radio, while the Diocese still holds mass for people who dare to go to church to pray and light candles. When the air raid siren sounds to warn that an Azerbaijani jet has crossed into Armenian-controlled airspace, residents have approximately three minutes to find cover. Sometimes, when the Russian-made missile defence systems don’t work, there is no warning at all. Armenia’s vast diaspora has mobilised to help the tiny country in the battle against Azerbaijan, with volunteers from France, the US and Lebanon arriving by the planeload. In the 1990s, they were joined by Russian, Ossetian and Slavic mercenaries, while Baku was assisted by Turkish far-right group, the Grey Wolves, as well as men from Chechnya and Afghanistan. The two men and one woman – a retired nurse – in the basement of the grocery store have already done their part to defend what they call Artsakh, the Armenian name for the de facto Armenian republic inside Azerbaijan’s borders, in earlier chapters of their lives. “I remember the first time I saw the mujahideen when I was fighting Azerbaijan in the 90s war,” Hovhnnesyan said, toasting bread on a space heater and alternating sips from a cup of tea and a glass of local cognac. “I’d never seen anything like them before. They wore flowing white clothes and headscarves. I think they were from Afghanistan. Now they are sending Syrians, so I guess some things don’t change.” The battle over Nagorno-Karabakh has been waged on and off for a century, but escalated into a bloody three-year war when the Soviet Union disintegrated. A 1994 ceasefire resulted in an Armenian victory, but both sides still harbour deep-seated and legitimate grievances. Armenia, scarred by the ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijanis in the 1980s – as well as Turkey a century ago – has over the years refused to give up the seven other Azerbaijani provinces it occupies, leaving 700,000 Azeris unable to return to the homes they fled. The fighting that broke out two weeks ago is a mix of the old and the new. Conscripts armed with AK-47s face off in first world war-style trenches, in some places so close the two sides can actually talk to each other, while state-of-the-art drones and long-range missiles soar through the sky above. Then, as now, soldiers of fortune are jumping into the fray against the backdrop of a changing world order. But as Turkish-backed Syrian fighters arrive on the Azerbaijani side of the frontline and foreign-made drones pick off targets from the air, Nagorno-Karabakh, after Syria and Libya, is the latest theatre in which Moscow and Ankara have become enmeshed in a battle for geopolitical superiority. In a sense, this new conflict is history repeating itself. In another, it points to what the future of warfare could look like.“It’s awful here. They lied to us: they said we were coming to guard oil and gas facilities,” said Mohammed al-Hamza, a 26-year-old from the Aleppo countryside, reached by phone in hospital 30 miles away on the other side of the frontline. He was injured by Armenian shelling just two days after his deployment to the Azerbaijani support line. “I did a tour in Libya and some of that was dangerous, but nothing like this. Around 250 of us have asked to go home.” The fighting is already the worst outbreak of hostilities in the Caucasus since the breakup of the Soviet Union. It was triggered by what was almost certainly a surprise offensive by Baku, which has grown frustrated with the impotent peace process and provocations from Armenia’s new prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, elected after the country’s 2018 peaceful revolution. Oil wealth has given Azerbaijan a definitive military advantage over Armenia’s rusting Soviet-era hardware, and for the first time Baku has the outright support of Turkey, with which it shares close cultural and economic ties. Ankara’s assertive stance has not yet been matched by Moscow, which sells arms to both sides and appears wary of honouring its military pact with Yerevan should the fighting extend outside Nagarno-Karabakh into mainland Armenia. The cost of the war is already unsustainably steep, although neither country will admit the true extent of their casualties. Despite fierce rhetoric from Yerevan officials about freedom or death, Armenia is taking the heavier losses thanks to Azerbaijan’s Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 and Israel’s kamikaze Harop drones. In Goris, the last town in Armenia before the mountain corridor that connects the country to Nagorno-Karabakh, a soldier pulled up in a pickup truck that was drenched in congealing blood. It had been used to carry a soldier hit by artillery to hospital;E
UK;As fighting rages in Nagorno-Karabakh, coronavirus spreads;"People infected with the coronavirus pack into cold basements along with the healthy to hide from artillery fire in Nagorno-Karabakh, while doctors who have tested positive do surgery on those wounded in the shelling. These are the grim realities of the pandemic in a region beset by weeks of heavy fighting. Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia for more than a quarter-century, is facing the largest escalation of hostilities since a war there ended in 1994. In just over three weeks, hundreds of people have been killed. Two attempts at cease-fires have failed to stop the conflict. The fighting has diverted the region's scarce resources from containing the outbreak, which spread unchecked during the first two weeks of fighting that began on Sept. 27. Contact-tracing ground to a halt, and intense artillery and rocket strikes forced people into overcrowded bunkers, where it was impossible to separate the sick from the healthy. Health workers have been hit particularly hard. “Almost everyone got infected, some had it in a light form and others in a more serious one,” Malvina Badalyan, chief doctor at the infectious disease clinic in the regional capital of Stepanakert, said of health workers in the region. But in the middle of a war, with wounded people flooding into hospitals, there's nothing to do but keep working. “Many doctors and nurses knew that they were infected, but they kept mum about it,” said Ararat Ohanjanyan, the health minister for Nagorno-Karabakh’s regional government. “They may lie down in a corner to bring the fever down and then get up and continue to perform surgeries.” “No one has the right now to step aside,” he added. When the the latest escalation of fighting started, medical workers had no time or resources to deal with the outbreak, Ohanjanyan said. “We didn't have time to track down those infected while Stepanakert came under heavy shelling, and it allowed contagion to spread,” he said. Ohanjanayan himself tested positive for the virus just over a week ago — and he, too, has continued working despite running a fever and fighting pneumonia. In the past week, the shelling of Stepanakert has become less intense, and ambulance crews have finally been able to visit shelters and basements to track down the sick, Ohanjanyan said, adding that regular testing and isolation of the infected has resumed. Patients in the most serious condition have been sent to Armenia, while others have been admitted to hospitals or received treatment at their homes in the region. But Ohanjanyan said authorities still don't have a good handle on how many people are infected. Armenia, which supports the separatist region via a land corridor, has also seen a sharp increase in cases over the past weeks. The seven-day rolling average of daily new infections has nearly tripled since early October to 44 per 100,000 people on Oct. 20. As Nagorno-Karabakh's medical system faced a massive challenge, regular residents and health workers alike volunteered to deliver medicine to people hiding in basements and to help track down those who had become infected. Aram Gregorian, a doctor who volunteered to visit those seeking shelter from the shelling, said the cramped conditions in bunkers helped fuel the virus's spread. “Constant shelling forces people to stay in tight groups in basements, and they can’t self-isolate,"" he said. ""Even those who have a fever and clinical signs of COVID-19 can’t get treatment or go to the hospital.” Irina Musaelyan, a Stepanakert resident who was hiding in a basement along with her neighbors, said that the war overshadowed the virus outbreak. ""We just don’t have time to think about coronavirus,” she said. Even at the infectious disease clinic in Stepanakert, coronavirus patients were forced to shelter in the basement. Arevik Israelyan, who was visiting her husband who is hospitalized at the clinic with the virus, said the outbreak is challenge — but people mostly worry about the war. “People get infected, but we will live through it,"" she said. “The main thing is that there is no war.”";N
UK;Coronavirus spreads in Nagorno-Karabakh as heavy fighting continues;"People who are sick with the coronavirus pack into chilly basements alongside the healthy to hide from artillery fire. The local health minister who tested positive keeps working, despite a fever and pneumonia. Doctors with the virus perform surgery on the wounded. These are the grim realities of the pandemic in Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist region in the South Caucasus mountains beset by weeks of heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. ""We just don't have time to think about coronavirus,"" said Irina Musaelyan, a resident of the regional capital of Stepanakert who was sheltering in a basement with her neighbours. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia for more than a quarter-century. It is facing the largest escalation of fighting since a war there ended in 1994, with hundreds killed since 27 September. Two attempts at cease-fires have failed. The fighting has diverted the region's scarce resources from containing the virus, which spread unchecked amid artillery fire and drone attacks that have people spending many hours in overcrowded bunkers, whether they are sick or healthy. Contact tracing has ground to a halt. Health care workers have been hit particularly hard. ""Almost everyone got infected. Some had it in a light form and others in a more serious one,"" Dr. Malvina Badalyan, head of the infectious disease clinic in Stepanakert, said of the region's health workers. But in the middle of a war, with wounded flooding into hospitals, there's nothing to do but keep working. ""Many doctors and nurses knew that they were infected, but they kept mum about it,"" said Ararat Ohanjanyan, the health minister for Nagorno-Karabakh's regional government. ""They may lie down in a corner to bring the fever down and then get up and continue to perform operations."" ""No one has the right now to step aside,"" he added. When the the latest escalation of fighting started, medical workers had no time or resources to deal with the outbreak, Ohanjanyan said. ""We didn't have time to track down those infected while Stepanakert came under heavy shelling, and it allowed contagion to spread,"" he said. Ohanjanyan himself tested positive for the virus just over a week ago – and he, too, has continued working despite a fever and pneumonia. In the past week, the shelling of Stepanakert has become less intense and ambulance crews have finally been able to visit shelters and basements to track down the sick, Ohanjanyan said, adding that regular testing and isolation of those infected has resumed. Patients in the most serious condition have been sent to Armenia, while others have been admitted to hospitals or are treated at home. Ohanjanyan said authorities still don't have a good handle on how many people are infected. Armenia, which supports the separatist region via a land corridor, has also seen a sharp increase in cases in recent weeks. The seven-day rolling average of daily new infections has nearly tripled since early October to 44 per 100,000 people on 20 October. As Nagorno-Karabakh's medical system faced the massive challenge, residents and health workers alike volunteered to deliver medicine to people sheltering in basements and to help track down those who are sick. Dr. Aram Gregorian, who volunteered to visit those hunkered down during the shelling, said the cramped conditions in shelters helped fuel the spread of the virus. ""Constant shelling forces people to stay in tight groups in basements, and they can't self-isolate,"" he said. ""Even those who have a fever and clinical signs of COVID-19 can't get treatment or go to the hospital.""Even coronavirus patients at the infectious disease clinic have been forced to seek shelter in the basement.Arevik Israelyan, who was visiting her virus-stricken husband at the clinic, said the outbreak is a challenge, but people are mostly worried about the war.""People get infected, but we will live through it,"" she said. ""The main thing is that there is no war.""";N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenian protests urge 'traitor' PM to quit;Protesters are calling for Armenia's prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, to quit after he signed a peace deal with Azerbaijan, to end the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but which has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since a 1994 truce. Under the Russian-brokered deal, Azerbaijan keeps areas it has captured. The BBC's Jonah Fisher has been speaking to people at a demonstration in Yerevan.;N
UK;Reluctant Russia offers to send peacekeeping ‘monitors’ to Nagorno-Karabakh;Russia has offered to send monitors to the disputed territories of Nagorno-Karabakh to police a five-day ceasefire deal that failed almost as soon as it was signed. Speaking with journalists on Wednesday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the warring parties of Azerbaijan and Armenia urgently needed a “ceasefire verification” mechanism. “We believe it would be right if they were our observers, but it is up to both parties to make a final decision,” he said. The Russian diplomatic intervention comes amid a major escalation in fighting, now believed to have killed at least 600 people.  Overnight, Azerbaijan confirmed it had struck missile systems inside Armenia, claiming they had been aimed at Azerbaijani cities. Armenia denied the allegations but said it now reserved the right to target similar installations in Azerbaijan. Baku’s admission that it was striking targets inside Armenia — rather than Armenian-controlled territories inside internationally recognised Azerbaijan – was significant in that such attacks would logically fall under a military pact between Russia and Armenia requiring a common response. So far, Russia has been reluctant to support its notional ally throughout two weeks of increasingly bloody reverses on the battlefield. Moscow’s difficult relations with prime minister Nikol Pashinyan seem to have hampered the Armenian cause. Russia’s relative detachment contrasts strongly with Turkey, which has vowed to support Azerbaijan “on the battlefield or negotiating table.”  Turkish drones – alongside Israeli technology – have been a major factor in swtching momentum decisively to the Azerbaijani side. In his interview, foreign Minister Lavrov was critical of Ankara’s support.   “There is no secret here, we cannot agree with statements that a military solution to the conflict is possible and admissible,” he said.  But the obvious failure of the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement of 9 October underlined the extent to which the balance of power in the region is switching from Moscow to Ankara.   Such considerations would also suggest that the Azerbaijani side might not be so enthusiastic about embracing the idea of Russian boots on the ground. On Tuesday, authorities in the Armenian-backed enclave reported that the number of casualties since fighting began on 27 September amounted to nearly 600. The real number is likely to be higher, with military authorities reluctant to give a true picture of losses. Azerbaijan has not disclosed the numbers of its military dead, but says 42 of its civilians have been killed in the last two weeks.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal brokered by Moscow prompts anger in Armenia;Russian peacekeepers have deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh after Moscow brokered a peace deal that sparked celebrations in Azerbaijan and protests in Armenia, where demonstrators briefly occupied government buildings. The truce, announced late on Monday night, calls for the deployment of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to the disputed enclave, where Azerbaijan will receive significant territorial concessions from an Armenian-backed local government. The ceasefire may end a six-week war in which Azerbaijan launched its largest offensive in a generation to retake Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions under Armenian control. Since fighting began in late September, thousands have been killed and more than 100,000 displaced in the worst fighting since the early 1990s. The agreement confirmed the influence of Russia and Turkey in the region, while sidelining western powers. Russia on Tuesday denied that Turkish peacekeepers would be allowed to deploy to Nagorno-Karabakh despite claims that they would by Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev. “The deal ends six weeks of heavy fighting, but is not a comprehensive peace treaty,” said Olga Oliker of the International Crisis Group in a statement, adding that many details of the ceasefire “remain vague”. Michael Carpenter, an adviser to the US president-elect, Joe Biden, described the deal as a geopolitical victory for Vladimir Putin. News of the deal set off a protests in the Armenian capital. Hundreds of people took to the streets and stormed government buildings soon after Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, announced the “painful” deal early on Tuesday. Windows were smashed and broken glass littered the lobby of Pashinyan’s official residence. Protesters ripped his nameplate off his office door as others chanted: “Nikol has betrayed us.” Police officers looked on as demonstrators – including some army veterans wearing military fatigues – filled the ornate, wood-panelled offices, shouting and delivering furious speeches. Crowds also forced their way into the Armenian parliament as brawls broke out on the podium and objects were thrown. The parliament’s speaker, Ararat Mirzoyan, was caught up in the violence and beaten unconscious by an angry mob. Pashinyan and senior figures in the Nagorno-Karabakh administration said they were forced to sue for peace. Azerbaijani forces had captured the enclave’s strategically positioned town of Shusha and appeared to be within striking distance of the region’s largest city, Stepanakert. Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out on 27 September. The region has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994. Azerbaijan said it had retaken much of the land in and around Nagorno-Karabakh that it lost in a 1991-94 war over the territory that killed an estimated 30,000 people and forced many more from their homes. Armenia has denied the extent of Azerbaijan’s territorial gains. Arayik Harutyunyan, the leader of the Nagorno-Karabakh government, said on Tuesday that he had agreed to the peace terms in consultation with Pashinyan. “If the fighting had continued, we would have lost the whole of Artsakh within a few days, and we would have had more victims,” he said, referring to Nagorno-Karabakh, in a video posted online. Armenian opposition parties have called for the government to revoke the agreement. And the country’s president, Armen Sarkissian, distanced himself from the deal, saying he had learned about the negotiations from the media and calling for “political consultations” to find a path out of the crisis. The agreement calls for Armenian forces to turn over control of some areas it held outside the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the eastern district of Agdam. That area carries strong symbolic weight for Azerbaijan because its main city, also called Agdam, was thoroughly pillaged, and the only building remaining intact is the city’s mosque.Armenians will also turn over the Lachin region, which holds the main road leading from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The agreement calls for the road, the so-called Lachin corridor, to remain open and be protected by 1,960 Russian peacekeepers. Stepanakert will remain under control of the Armenian-backed government. The deal announced overnight on Tuesday was “absolutely momentous” in the more than a century-long modern history of the dispute, said Laurence Broers, the Caucasus programme director at Conciliation Resources, a peace-building group. Apart from regaining territory it lost in a 1990s war with Armenia, Azerbaijan also appeared to have taken off the table questions of a referendum to decide the future of Nagorno-Karabakh that had been a feature of peace talks over the past two decades. News footage on Tuesday showed peacekeepers from Russia’s 15th Motorised Rifle Brigade boarding military planes from Russia and later departing the Armenian city of Goris in military transports headed toward Nagorno-Karabakh. The deal stipulated they would be deployed to the Lachin corridor for five years, establishing Russia’s role as peacemaker in the region for the foreseeable future. “I personally made a very hard decision for myself and all of us,” Pashinyan said in a statement posted online, describing the ceasefire terms as “unbelievably painful for me and our people”. In a video address, Aliyev taunted Pashinyan, saying he had signed the agreement because of his “iron fist.” The agreement also calls for transport links to be established through Armenia linking Azerbaijan and its western exclave of Nakhchivan, which is surrounded by Armenia, Iran and Turkey. The deal leaves a cloud of uncertainty over parts of Nagorno-Karabakh that will continue to be administered by local ethnic Armenian authorities including the enclave’s main city Stepanakert, whose main road to Armenia will be in Azerbaijani control and overseen by Russian peacekeepers. “It could end up being a strange, highly securitised area,” said Broers. “Maybe the calculation is that it’s going to be such an awful place to live that most of the Armenian population – most of whom have already left – won’t come back.” Azerbaijan’s president confirmed the news in a televised online meeting with Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, which has a defence pact with Armenia and a military base there. Turkey has been supporting its ally Azerbaijan. “The signed trilateral statement will become a [crucial] point in the settlement of the conflict,” Aliyev said. Aliyev also claimed that Turkish peacekeepers would be deployed as part of the agreement, although no details have been made public. Putin said in a statement on Tuesday that he hoped the deal “will set up necessary conditions for long-lasting and full-scale settlement of the crisis over Nagorno-Karabakh”. Pashinyan came to power in 2018 in a bloodless democratic revolution and there are already fears the loss of territory may provide an opportunity for authoritarian forces to reclaim power.;N
UK;Armenian protesters demand prime minister quit over deal with Nagorno-Karabakh;Tens of thousands of opposition supporters have marched through the Armenian capital to call for the resignation of the country’s prime minister because of his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. In six weeks of fierce fighting that ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal on 10 November, the Azerbaijani army reclaimed lands that Armenian forces have held for more than a quarter of a century. Armenia’s opposition parties warned the prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, that there would be civil disobedience across the country if he does not resign by midday on Tuesday. Pashinyan has refused to step down, defending the peace agreement as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region. More than 20,000 protesters rallied in Yerevan on Saturday, chanting, “Nikol, you traitor!” and “Nikol, go away!” and then marched to the prime minister’s official residence. “The seat of the prime minister of Armenia is currently being occupied by a political corpse,” Artur Vanetsyan, the leader of the opposition party Homeland and the former head of the National Security Service, said at the rally. Several priests of the Armenian Apostolic church joined the protest, denouncing Pashinyan for allowing Azerbaijan to take over some holy sites. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That conflict left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but large chunks of surrounding lands in Armenian hands. In 44 days of fighting that began on 27 September, Azerbaijani troops routed the Armenian forces and wedged deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept the 10 November peace deal that returned a significant part of the separatist region to Azerbaijan. It also obliged Armenia to hand over all the areas it held outside Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan completed reclaiming those territories on Tuesday when it took over the Lachin region located between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Azerbaijan celebrated the end of fighting as a national triumph, and President Ilham Aliyev established a new 8 November national holiday called Victory Day to commemorate the event. Armenian opposition leaders hold Pashinyan responsible for failing to negotiate an earlier end to the hostilities at terms that could have been more beneficial for Armenia. They have emphasised, however, that the opposition was not pushing for the annulment of the peace deal. Veteran politician Vazgen Manukyan, who 17 opposition parties have nominated as their candidate for prime minister, said at Saturday’s rally that his transition government would seek to renegotiate some aspects of the 10 November peace deal. Manukyan, 71, served as prime minister in 1990-91, when Armenia was part of the Soviet Union, and later served as defence minister during the separatist war. Azerbaijan on Thursday released information on its military casualties from the latest fighting. Its defence ministry said 2,783 troops were killed and more than 100 were still missing and its government said 94 of its civilians were killed and more than 400 wounded. Armenia’s health ministry said on Wednesday that at least 2,718 Armenian servicemen had been killed in the fighting. At least 55 Armenian civilians were also among the casualties. Russia deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace deal and to facilitate the return of refugees. The Russian troops will also ensure safe transit between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia across the Lachin region.;E
UK;UK statement on situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh: 6 November 2020;Thank you Mr Chair.The United Kingdom welcomes last week’s talks in Geneva. We urge both parties to implement the agreed steps from the meeting, including cooperating fully with the ICRC and abiding by the agreement not to target civilian populations. We remain deeply disappointed that the previously agreed humanitarian ceasefires are not holding. The United Kingdom strongly condemns continued targeting of civilian areas. We are deeply concerned that the number of civilian casualties continues to grow. We urge both parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law.It is unacceptable that civilians remain in both direct and indirect danger whilst this conflict continues. Our thoughts remain with those affected and those who have lost loved ones.The United Kingdom welcomes the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate the repatriation of the remains of the deceased and provide vital support to those who have been displaced. On 30 October the United Kingdom announced a further £1million in funding to the ICRC. The humanitarian situation remains dire and as long as this conflict continues it is the civilians who will bear the unacceptable consequences. We urge both parties to recognise that there is no military solution to this conflict, and to return to the negotiating table, without preconditions, for a settlement under the auspices of the Minsk Co-Chairs.Lastly, I would like to reiterate the UKs full support for the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in their role in mediating negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.Thank you.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh: The boy who swapped his piano for a gun;The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is over, but some families are still waiting for news of their missing relatives. Bodies are still being counted and identified, and there is no clear information on what has happened to the missing. Twenty-two-year-old Soghomon was fighting on the Armenian frontline against Azerbaijan. The last time his family heard from him was 1 October. He was a soldier, but also an artist and a talented piano player. His father and sister say they can’t give up hope that he will return.;N
UK;Nagorno-Karabakh profile;"The conflict has roots dating back well over a century into competition between Christian Armenian and Muslim Turkic and Persian influences. Populated for centuries by Christian Armenian and Turkic Azeris, Karabakh became part of the Russian empire in the 19th century. The two groups lived in relative peace, although acts of brutality on both sides in the early 20th century live on in the popular memory. After the end of World War I and the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the new Soviet rulers, as part of their divide-and-rule policy in the region, established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, with an ethnic Armenian majority, within the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan in the early 1920s. As Soviet control loosened towards the end of the 1980s, smouldering Armenian-Azeri frictions exploded into violence when the region's parliament voted to join Armenia. During the fighting, in which between 20,000 and 30,000 people are estimated to have lost their lives, the ethnic Armenians gained control of the region. They also pushed on to occupy Azerbaijani territory outside Karabakh, creating a buffer zone linking Karabakh and Armenia. With the break-up of the Soviet Union, in late 1991, Karabakh declared itself an independent republic, further escalating the conflict into a full-scale war. That de-facto status has not been recognised elsewhere. While Armenia itself has never officially recognised the region's independence, it has become its main financial and military backer. Ceasefire. A Russian-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1994, leaving Karabakh as well as swathes of Azeri territory around the territory in Armenian hands. During the fighting, in which more than one million fled their homes, the ethnic Azeri population - about 25% of the total before the war - fled Karabakh and Armenia while ethnic Armenians fled the rest of Azerbaijan. Karabakh is the Russian rendering of an Azeri word meaning 'black garden', while Nagorno is a Russian root meaning ""mountainous"". The ethnic Armenians prefer to call the region Artsakh, an ancient Armenian name for the area. Since the truce, a simmering stalemate prevailed until September 2020, when Azerbaijani launched an offensive that recaptured territory around Karabakh and advanced onto the region itself before another Russian-brokered ceasefire. Russia, France and the US co-chair the OSCE's Minsk Group, which has been attempting to broker an end to the dispute.";N
UK;The Observer view on Nagorno-Karabakh;The fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia have gone back to war at a moment of acute global crisis is deeply dismaying. In March, the UN called for a global ceasefire in support of the bigger battle against coronavirus. Its appeal has been widely ignored. The conflict in the South Caucasus echoes ongoing, heedless violence in several Middle East countries where, it seems, enmity trumps humanity. War is its own disease. Renewed fighting over the Armenia-held Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which erupted last month and has killed or displaced thousands of civilians, vividly underscores the dangers inherent in the crumbling of the international, rules-based order. Regional powers initially failed to intervene or, in the case of Turkey, fanned the flames. The EU looked on as war engulfed its borders. The US did nothing. The humanitarian ceasefire agreed during talks in Moscow on Friday is a first step back from the abyss, but the precedents are not encouraging. The ceasefire agreed in 1994, after a three-year war over Nagorno-Karabakh, has been repeatedly violated. The latest clashes have involved indiscriminate bombardment of civilian homes, drone strikes and the reported use of cluster munitions. The conflagration has been especially revealing of the extent to which Russia still exerts influence in what post-Soviet leaders like to call their “near abroad”. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, who publicly bemoaned the collapse of the Soviet Union, specialises in seeding instability and discord among the western democracies. Yet in recent weeks he has been forced to watch, largely helpless, as unrest has enveloped Russia’s backyard. In Belarus, large pro-democracy demonstrations are continuing despite the regime’s frequently violent, illegal efforts to crush them. Putin’s backing for Alexander Lukashenko, who stole August’s presidential election, has fed anti-Russian sentiment in Minsk. Last week’s decision by Britain and leading EU countries to recall their ambassadors is a measure of Putin’s isolation. Putin miscalculated by offering personal support to the president of Kyrgyzstan, another former Soviet republic, shortly before protesters brought down the country’s government. Putin’s critics also point to his failure to bring Ukraine back into the fold, despite the 2014 armed intervention, and to popular unrest in Russia’s far east. Little wonder Putin is anxious to halt further escalation between Russia’s ally Armenia and Azerbaijan, a strategically important oil and gas exporter. Turkey’s involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh flare-up has been wholly unhelpful. Rather than mediate between close neighbours, its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, offered unlimited support to his Azeri allies against Armenia. His reaction reflected ancient ethnic and religious enmities. But it was also in line with his broader policy of expanding Turkey’s regional sphere of influence. This policy has led to direct Turkish military involvement in Syria and Libya and, more recently, to extraordinary bellicosity in the eastern Mediterranean, aimed principally at Turkey’s Nato ally Greece. Yet it is also a response to economic troubles and growing political opposition at home. Turkey denies sending mercenaries to Azerbaijan, but its meddling has undoubtedly raised tensions. On Friday, Turkey demanded that all Armenian forces withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh, a position that could undermine the ceasefire.Other parties in this avoidable tragedy have similarly failed to act responsibly. That this long-simmering dispute – the term “frozen conflict” has never adequately expressed the always heated nature of the problem – was again allowed to burn out of control reflects badly on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and its Minsk group, co-chaired by Russia, the US and France. Although President Emmanuel Macron may believe otherwise, France, even as the EU’s representative, has limited leverage. But the US could certainly have done more to help resolve an issue with which, in the immediate post-Soviet era, it was closely engaged. The reality, however, is that Washington’s lack of interest stems from a wider international disengagement by the Trump administration and a resulting vacuum where effective diplomatic problem-solving structures once existed. And, as in Belarus and Ukraine, Trump is oddly reluctant to challenge Putin. Amid all the complex geopolitical and strategic ramifications of this conflict, it is easy to forget the human impact of the fighting. Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, last week deplored artillery strikes by both sides that killed, injured and terrorised defenceless people. She reminded Armenia and Azerbaijan, and “states with influence over parties to the conflict”, of their obligation under international humanitarian law to protect civilians. Let’s hope the big powers are finally listening. Perhaps the ceasefire will hold and peace talks will produce a permanent truce. But without concerted, persistent international pressure for a full and final settlement, the Nagorno-Karabakh time-bomb will keep ticking.;N
VA;Pope renews his appeal for peace in the Caucasus;"Pope Francis issued a heartfelt appeal on Sunday for an end to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan that, he said, is causing much death and suffering.Speaking after the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square on the Solemnity of All Saints’, the Pope said “during these feast days, let us not forget  what is happeninig in Nagorno Karabakh, where armed clashes are interrupted intermittently by fragile truces.”He decried a “tragic increase in the number of victims, the destruction of homes, infrastructures and places of worship,” and noted that civilians are increasingly under attack.Appeal to authorities and international community“I would like to renew my heartfelt appeal to the parties responsible in the conflict so that they intervene as soon as possible to stop the shedding of innocent blood"", the Pope said, urging them not to attempt to solve the controversy with violence, but engaging in ""sincere negotiations with the help of the international community.”Pope Francis said he is close to all those who are suffering, and he invited them to pray to All Saints for a stable peace in the region.    The Pope has already expressed his concern and appealed for a negotiated solution to the crisis in Nagorno Karabakh during the Angelus on 28 September.Mutual accusationsMeanwhile, on the ground Armenia and Azerbaijan have again accused each other of bombing residential areas in defiance of a pact to avoid the deliberate targeting of civilians in and around disputed Nagorno-Karabakh.Shelling was reported by both sides on Saturday within hours of the latest agreement to defuse the conflict, reached after talks in Geneva between the two countries’ foreign ministers and envoys from France, Russia and the United States.The death toll in the worst fighting in the South Caucasus for more than 25 years has surpassed 1,000.";N
VA;Azerbaijan, Armenia Accuse Each Other Of Deadly Breaches Of Truce;"Shocked survivors are grieving between rubble in Azerbaijan's second-largest city of Ganja. ""Pull yourself together,"" a policeman told a crying man. They are among the latest victims of battles between Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia over the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh.The fighting continues despite a truce that came into effect on Saturday to end the deadliest clashes over the mountainous enclave in decades.Gajan residents said a missile hit their residential neighborhood, killing and injuring several people, including children.  Hikmat Hajiyev, an adviser to Azerbaijan's president, blames Armenia for the attack. ""Gajan city is more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from the theater of military operations. What was the reason to attack this city,"" he complained, standing between destroyed homes.""There are no military targets here. In no way it can be justified from military necessity. But what we see here is Armenia's purpose of killing civilians. It shows once again the true face of Armenia,"" Hajiyev added.  But the Armenian defense ministry called these accusations ""an absolute lie."" It accused Azeri forces of continuing to shell populated areas insight Nagorno Karabakh including the region's biggest city Stepanakert.CHURCH CONCERNEDCatholic and other church leaders have also expressed concerns about the shelling of the historic Holy Savior Cathedral in Nagorno Karabakh's Shusha city, an important site for the Armenian Apostolic Church. Rubble was strewn on the floor. Pews were knocked over, and the interior was covered in dust from parts of the building's limestone walls that had been hit.Nagorno Karabakh lies technically inside Azerbaijan, but it is under ethnic Armenian control. Arayik Harutyunyan is President of the contested region. Speaking to reporters, he accused Azerbaijan of ""violating humanitarian rules by attacking people in Nagorno Karabakh."" He said the situation calmed down Sunday but added, ""the frontline remains tense.""Tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been building over the summer. It spilled into direct clashes on September 27 and has since killed hundreds of people.Analysts say the timing is significant as outside powers that have mediated in the past - namely Russia, France, and the United States - are distracted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and a list of world crises from Lebanon to Belarus.There is international concern that the conflict could once again lead to a new broader war. Past outbreaks of fighting have killed some 30,000 people since 1988. Forces loyal to Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on a ceasefire in 1994, but isolated clashes have continued.";N
VA;Azerbaijan, Armenia Accuse Each Other Of Deadly Breaches Of Truce;"Shocked survivors are grieving between rubble in Azerbaijan's second-largest city of Ganja. ""Pull yourself together,"" a policeman told a crying man. They are among the latest victims of battles between Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia over the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh.The fighting continues despite a truce that came into effect on Saturday to end the deadliest clashes over the mountainous enclave in decades.Gajan residents said a missile hit their residential neighborhood, killing and injuring several people, including children.  Hikmat Hajiyev, an adviser to Azerbaijan's president, blames Armenia for the attack. ""Gajan city is more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from the theater of military operations. What was the reason to attack this city,"" he complained, standing between destroyed homes.""There are no military targets here. In no way it can be justified from military necessity. But what we see here is Armenia's purpose of killing civilians. It shows once again the true face of Armenia,"" Hajiyev added.  But the Armenian defense ministry called these accusations ""an absolute lie."" It accused Azeri forces of continuing to shell populated areas insight Nagorno Karabakh including the region's biggest city Stepanakert.CHURCH CONCERNEDCatholic and other church leaders have also expressed concerns about the shelling of the historic Holy Savior Cathedral in Nagorno Karabakh's Shusha city, an important site for the Armenian Apostolic Church. Rubble was strewn on the floor. Pews were knocked over, and the interior was covered in dust from parts of the building's limestone walls that had been hit.Nagorno Karabakh lies technically inside Azerbaijan, but it is under ethnic Armenian control. Arayik Harutyunyan is President of the contested region. Speaking to reporters, he accused Azerbaijan of ""violating humanitarian rules by attacking people in Nagorno Karabakh."" He said the situation calmed down Sunday but added, ""the frontline remains tense.""Tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been building over the summer. It spilled into direct clashes on September 27 and has since killed hundreds of people.Analysts say the timing is significant as outside powers that have mediated in the past - namely Russia, France, and the United States - are distracted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and a list of world crises from Lebanon to Belarus.There is international concern that the conflict could once again lead to a new broader war. Past outbreaks of fighting have killed some 30,000 people since 1988. Forces loyal to Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on a ceasefire in 1994, but isolated clashes have continued.";N