As a result of the largest clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, nearly fifty Armenian soldiers were killed. Still, Moscow said it had reached a rapid ceasefire agreement with the historic rivals. During fierce fighting overnight on its borders, Armenia pleaded for help from world leaders, claiming Azerbaijani forces were encroaching on its territory.
50 Armenian soldiers have been killed in the worst clashes between Armenia & Azerbaijan. However, Russia says it has convinced the historic rivals to ease tensions. Armenia called on world leaders for assistance, indicating that Azerbaijani forces were advancing on its territory. pic.twitter.com/YGr04UxVnG
— Live News Now (@LiveNewsNow6) September 13, 2022
More than 6,500 were killed on both sides of the conflict between ex-Soviet republics over Nagorno-Karabakh, the most brutal war between the two since 2020. Moscow, Yerevan’s closest ally after the war, was distracted by its six-month invasion of Ukraine, which deployed thousands of peacekeepers in the region. According to the foreign ministry in Moscow, Russian forces succeeded in halting the clashes at 09:00 am Moscow time, bringing the conflicts to an end.
As a result of Russian mediation, we expect the ceasefire agreement to be fully implemented,” the ministry said. The ministry said that the increase in violence is “extremely concerning.” Following a call to French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday morning, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed parliament on Tuesday morning to demand “an adequate response” to “Azerbaijan’s aggressive actions.”
Request Russia for Assistance
According to Azerbaijan, the country also suffered casualties, but it did not specify how many people died. A defense ministry official said Tuesday that artillery, mortars, and drones engaged Armenian territory toward Goris, Sotk, and Jermuk. It said in a statement that the enemy was trying to advance into Armenian territory.
On the other hand, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of large-scale subversion near Kelbajar, Dashkesan, and Lachin. It said its troops responded with “limited and targeted steps and counteracting Armenian firing positions.” The Turkish government has long backed Azerbaijan on political and military levels and has urged Yerevan to negotiate with the Azerbaijani government.
During a phone conversation with Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Armenia should cease its provocations and concentrate on peace talks and cooperation with Azerbaijan. In an emergency session on Tuesday, Pashinyan led the country’s security council to agree to ask Moscow for military assistance, as it is bound by a treaty to defend Armenia against foreign invasion.
Source: Web
Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia’s sovereign territory was discussed by Suren Papikyan and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu over the phone, according to the defense ministry in Yerevan, who agreed that necessary measures would be taken to stabilize the situation.” In addition to Armenia, several former Soviet republics in Central Asia are members of the CSTO, led by Russia.
The U.S. Concerned About the Situations
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for an end to the fighting, expressing “deep concern” over the situation, which includes attacks on Armenian settlements and infrastructure. In a statement, Blinken said: “We have long made it clear that there can be no military solution to the conflict.” Any military hostilities should end immediately, he added.
In a border shootout last week, an Armenian soldier was allegedly killed by an Azerbaijani soldier. The Azerbaijani army lost a soldier in August, and the Karabakh army reported two soldiers killed and more than a dozen wounded. Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan’s enclave populated by Armenians, was the center of two wars between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the 1990s and 2020.
After six weeks of brutal fighting, a Russian-brokered ceasefire was negotiated in October 2020. About 2,000 Russian peacekeepers were deployed to oversee a fragile truce as Armenia ceded territory it controlled for decades. During bilateral dialogues mediated by the European Union in April and May, Ilham Aliyev and Pashinyan agreed to advance negotiations on a future peace accord.
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