As fighting erupted over the border in the former Soviet republic Friday night, Azerbaijan was accused of attempting to attack its archenemy Armenia.
Both sides have accused the other for the outbreak of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh territory amid allegations that Azerbaijan is attacking civilian infrastructure, resulting in the deaths of troops on both sides.
Russia, an ally of Armenia, mediated a ceasefire between Caucasus neighbors in 2020, following six weeks of fighting in which 6,500 people were dead.
Azerbaijan capitalized on Putin’s preoccupation with his own brutal conflict in Ukraine, leaving him unable to provide military aid or support to Armenia.
Online video appears to show a series of rockets being fired into Nagorno-Karabakh in the middle of the night.
Azerbaijan asserted that its forces were responding to Armenian provocations and refuted allegations that they had targeted civilian facilities.
During fighting in 2020, an Armenian soldier shoots artillery on the front line at the border with Azerbaijan (file image)
According to a statement, Azerbaijani military forces are conducting restricted and targeted actions to neutralize Armenian firing positions.
Shortly after midnight, Azerbaijani forces reportedly began intensively bombarding Armenian military positions in the direction of Goris, Sotk, and Jermuk with artillery and large-caliber weaponry.
However, Azerbaijan’s defense ministry has accused Armenia of committing “large-scale subversive operations” near the border regions of Dashkesan, Kelbajar, and Lachin, adding that its army posts “came under fire, notably from trench mortars.”
A ceasefire was reached early this morning, but it collapsed within minutes.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted today that Turkey told Armenia to “stop its provocations” and “concentrate on peace negotiations and collaboration with Azerbaijan” after speaking with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov.
Armenia has called to world leaders for assistance, saying early this morning, “Azerbaijani soldiers continue to employ artillery, trench mortars, and drones… military and civilian infrastructure are targeted. The adversary is attempting to advance (onto Armenian soil).
According to the office of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, he called Emmanuel Macron, Vladimir Putin, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to demand a “proper response” to “Azerbaijan’s provocative conduct.”
Azerbaijan capitalized on Putin’s preoccupation with his own brutal conflict in Ukraine while he was unable to provide military aid or support to Armenia.
Pashinyan also discussed the development of tensions with Charles Michel of the European Union.
Michel, the president of the European Council, stated that the EU was “prepared to make measures to prevent further escalation” and that there was “no alternative to peace and stability in the region,” according to a translation of the call provided by Armenia.
The United States demanded an end to the violence, with Blinken expressing “grave concern” over the situation, including “reported strikes against Armenian communities and civilian infrastructure.”
Blinken stated in a statement, “As we have long made clear, there is no military solution to the problem.” We demand an immediate stop to all military hostilities.
In a border battle last week, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of killing one of its soldiers.
In August, Azerbaijan reported the death of one soldier, while the Karabakh army reported the deaths of two soldiers and over a dozen injuries.
The neighbors fought two wars – in the 1990s and in 2020 – over the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, ethnic Armenian rebels in Nagorno-Karabakh separated from Azerbaijan.
Under the terms of the 2020 ceasefire, Armenia surrendered large swaths of land it had controlled for decades, and Moscow deployed almost 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to monitor the tenuous truce.
During EU-mediated consultations in Brussels in April and May, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed to “advance discussions” on a future peace treaty.
In 1991, when the Soviet Union disintegrated, ethnic Armenian rebels in Nagorno-Karabakh separated from Azerbaijan. The ensuing fighting resulted in approximately 30,000 deaths.
Armenia’s security council convened in order to invoke a mutual assistance and cooperation contract with Russia, which promises cooperative defense and military aid in cases of aggression against its members.
It was resolved to make an official plea to the Russian Federation to use the provisions of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance.
In addition, Armenia will turn to the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a security group chaired by Russia, and the United Nations Security Council.