Tuesday,
Armenia-Azerbaijan Fighting Halted After Russia-Mediated Ceasefire
An Armenian soldier near a military position situated along the border with
Azerbaijan (file photo)
Armenia has announced a Russia-mediated ceasefire after daylong heavy fighting
along its border with Azerbaijan in which Yerevan admitted casualties and
territorial losses.
The country’s Defense Ministry said that the ceasefire became effective at the
eastern border with Azerbaijan at 6:30 pm on November 16 in accordance with the
agreement reached through the mediation of the Russian side.
The ministry said that the situation has relatively stabilized at the moment.
Armenia’s military authorities added that information about the dead and wounded
is being currently summarized.
“At this moment there are verified data about one victim, private Meruzhan
Harutiunian, a contract soldier born in 1991. The number of wounded soldiers is
also being verified. A total of 12 Armenian servicemen were taken prisoner,” the
ministry said.
Earlier reports suggested that as many as 15 Armenian soldiers may have been
killed during the fighting.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the country’s Security Council today,
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian described the latest escalation at the
border as Azerbaijan’s direct aggression against Armenia’s sovereign territory.
He urged Armenia’s international partners to clearly condemn this aggression.
Azerbaijan has denied committing any aggression against Armenia, insisting that
the latest border escalation is a result of provocations and an attack by the
Armenian side.
Earlier, Armenia appealed to Russia, its key military and political ally, for
assistance in defending against Azerbaijan.
It was reported that Pashinian had a telephone conversation with Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin said the current situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border was
discussed during the phone call initiated by the Armenian side.
“The sides agreed to continue contacts regarding this issue,” the report said.
Also, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu had separate telephone
conversations with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts.
Also today President of the European Council Charles Michel called both
Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the developments.
Before the phone call, Michel said on Twitter that the situation in the region
remained “challenging,” and that the “EU is committed to work with partners to
overcome tensions for a prosperous and stable South Caucasus.”
The Foreign Ministry of France, meanwhile, expressed concern over the border
incidents between Armenia and Azerbaijan, urging the two sides to respect the
ceasefire agreement.
In its turn, the Foreign Ministry of Iran called on the two sides to respect
internationally recognized borders. Tehran also expressed readiness to help
Armenia and Azerbaijan in the matter of resolving their differences.
The United Nations also called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve issues
through dialogue.
In contrast, Turkey has again openly sided with Azerbaijan in its standoff with
Armenia. In a phone call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov reported
by Azerbaijani media, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that “Turkey, as
always, supports Azerbaijan.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh last year. The
hostilities in which nearly 7,000 people were killed were halted due to a
Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement that reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s territorial
gains and brought about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to the areas of the region
remaining under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces.
Armenia Seeks International Condemnation Of ‘Azerbaijani Aggression’
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses an emergency meeting of
Armenia’s Security Council, Yerevan, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has called on Armenia’s international partners to
condemn what he described as Azerbaijan’s aggression against his nation’s
sovereign borders.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the country’s Security Council late on
Tuesday, Pashinian described the latest escalation as Azerbaijan’s direct
aggression against Armenia’s sovereign territory.
“As a result of aggressive actions that began on May 12, 2021, Azerbaijan
occupied around 41 square kilometers of Armenia’s sovereign territory. In
conditions of the silence of our international partners Azerbaijan continues its
aggressive actions… Azerbaijan and forces encouraging it are targeting our
sovereignty, our statehood, our independence,” the Armenian leader said.
Pashinian, who also spoke about casualties suffered by Armenian armed forces in
the border fighting, acknowledged that “we have had a hard day today and are
living through hard times.”
“But today we have also shown that we are here, we do exist, we are a nation, we
are a nation state and coercive language is unacceptable to us. We can
negotiate, we can search and find mutually acceptable solutions, we behave like
a responsible member of the international community, but we will not tolerate a
language of arrogance spoken to us,” Pashinian stressed.
The head of the Armenian government called on the international community to
issue ‘targeted’ statements condemning Azerbaijan’s aggression. “All talk about
border disputes is absurd and meaningless. There is no border dispute. There is
an act of aggression against Armenia’s sovereign territory,” he argued.
“We, the government and the people of the Republic of Armenia, are determined to
defend our sovereignty, territorial integrity, statehood and independence with
all available means. At the same time, we continue to underscore the need for a
peaceful resolution of the situation,” Pashinian said, stressing that Yerevan
remained committed to the terms of the Russia-brokered ceasefire in
Nagorno-Karabakh signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020 and the
further Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani statement of January 11, 2021 regarding the
unblocking of regional transport links.
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh last year. The
hostilities in which nearly 7,000 people were killed were halted due to a
Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement that confirmed Azerbaijan’s territorial
gains and brought about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to the areas of the region
remaining under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces.
Unblocking of regional transport routes, which is part of the November 9, 2020
ceasefire agreement, appears to have been differently interpreted in Yerevan and
Baku as Armenia has resisted providing Azerbaijan with an exterritorial corridor
to its Nakhichevan exclave, while agreeing to general unblocking of all roads in
the region.
In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Tuesday senior member of
Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party Eduard Aghajanian claimed that Azerbaijan
escalated the situation at the borders after failing in its policy to force
Armenia to provide an exterritorial corridor to its Nakhichevan exclave.
Azerbaijan has denied committing any aggression against Armenia, insisting that
the latest border escalation is a result of provocations and an attack by the
Armenian side.
On Tuesday, Armenia appealed to Russia, its key military and political ally, for
assistance in defending against Azerbaijan.
It was reported later today that Pashinian had a telephone conversation with
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin said the current situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border was
discussed during the phone call initiated by the Armenian side.
“The sides agreed to continue contacts regarding this issue,” the report said.
The Foreign Ministry of France, meanwhile, expressed concern over the border
incidents between Armenia and Azerbaijan, urging the two sides to respect the
ceasefire agreement.
In its turn, the Foreign Ministry of Iran called on the two sides to respect
internationally recognized borders. Tehran also expressed readiness to help
Armenia and Azerbaijan in the matter of resolving their differences.
Armenian, Azerbaijani Leaders Trade Barbs Amid Border Fighting
A combo photo of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (left) and Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have blamed each other for the latest
major escalation along the two countries’ border in which over a dozen people
have reportedly been killed or wounded.
In a telephone conversation with President of the European Council Charles
Michel on Tuesday Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian claimed that “the
Azerbaijani authorities are deliberately escalating the situation with the aim
of aborting the implementation of trilateral agreements.”
As quoted by his press office, Pashinian said that “the international community
should not remain indifferent to Azerbaijan’s encroachments on the sovereign
territory of Armenia.”
Meanwhile, during his reported telephone conversation with the top EU official
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused the Armenian side of committing
recent provocations in Nagorno-Karabakh and launching an offensive against
Azerbaijan today. “It is the military and political leadership of Armenia that
is responsible for the situation,” Aliyev said, as quoted by Azerbaijani media.
Before the phone call, Michel said on Twitter that the situation in the region
remained “challenging,” and that the “EU is committed to work with partners to
overcome tensions for a prosperous and stable South Caucasus.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh last year. The
hostilities in which nearly 7,000 people were killed were halted due to a
Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement that confirmed Azerbaijan’s territorial
gains and brought about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to the areas of the region
remaining under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces.
Unblocking of regional transport routes, which is part of the November 9, 2020
agreement, appears to have been differently interpreted in Yerevan and Baku as
Armenia has resisted providing Azerbaijan with an exterritorial corridor to its
Nakhichevan exclave, while agreeing to general unblocking of all roads in the
region.
In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Tuesday senior member of
Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party Eduard Aghajanian claimed that the current
border escalation is a response by Azerbaijan to the failure of its policy to
force Armenia to provide the corridor.
“The Republic of Armenia will remain sovereign and there will be no
[exterritorial] corridor through its sovereign territory,” Aghajanian
underscored. “The [sovereign] status of the Republic of Armenia that was formed
in 1991 is not subject to negotiation.”
On Tuesday, Armenia appealed to Russia, its key military and political ally, for
assistance in defending against Azerbaijan.
Opposition Demands Pashinian’s Resignation Amid Armenia-Azerbaijan Fighting
Armenia - Supporters of the opposition Hayastan alliance march to the Yerablur
Military Pantheon, Yerevan, September 26, 2021.
A major opposition political party in Armenia has called for the resignation of
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his government amid continuing border clashes
with Azerbaijan in which official Yerevan has already reported casualties and
territorial losses.
The Hayastan Alliance, which has the second largest faction in Armenia’s
National Assembly, said in a statement issued late on Tuesday that the formation
of a new government may be a way of resolving the current situation.
The opposition bloc led by former President Robert Kocharian put direct blame on
Azerbaijan for “launching a large-scale attack in the eastern direction of the
border, violating international norms and committing new war crimes” and
described it as an urgent need “to stop the advancement of the enemy and expel
it from Armenia’s sovereign territory through the consolidation of all-national
forces.”
It, however, criticized the Pashinian government that “brings casualties,
territorial losses, division, chaos.”
“A full solution to the situation requires the resignation of this government.
Nikol Pashinian’s resignation should be followed by the consolidation of all
capable forces, the formation of a new government, the provision of a policy for
solving foreign and domestic problems,” the Hayastan Alliance said.
Talking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service earlier on Tuesday, senior member of the
ruling Civil Contract party’s parliamentary faction Eduard Aghajanian said that
the current border escalation is a response by Azerbaijan to the failure of its
policy to force Armenia to provide an exterritorial corridor for Baku to be
linked with its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s southern Syunik region.
“The Republic of Armenia will remain sovereign and there will be no
[exterritorial] corridor through its sovereign territory,” Aghajanian said. “The
[sovereign] status of the Republic of Armenia that was formed in 1991 is not
subject to negotiation.”
EU, OSCE Call For De-Escalation Between Armenia, Azerbaijan
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, chairs the EU-Western Balkans
Summit on 6 October 2021 in Brdo near Kranj, Slovenia
Leaders of the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) have called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to put an end to ongoing
border clashes for which both sides have accused each other.
Calling for “urgent de-escalation and full ceasefire”, Charles Michel, President
of the European Council, described the situation in the region as “challenging”.
“The EU is committed to work with partners to overcome tensions for a prosperous
and stable South Caucasus,” Michel wrote on Twitter.
The president of the European Council also said that he had discussions with the
leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia – President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian – “in light of today’s developments.”
Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, who is the current OSCE
Chairperson-in-Office, expressed her full support for the Minsk Group Co-Chairs,
who issued a statement over the Armenian-Azerbaijani border tensions and the
situation in Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this week.
Ann Linde, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office
(file photo)
“I share the deep concern of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs regarding reported
incidents in the region, including those along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. I
express my full support for their efforts and call on the sides to de-escalate
immediately and take steps to resolve the outstanding issues,” Linde wrote on
Twitter.
Earlier on Tuesday Armenia asked Russia for assistance in defending against
Azerbaijan amid renewed clashes along the border, a year after a cease-fire
stopped an intense war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
As of late afternoon, Yerevan said that there were casualties – both dead and
wounded – among Armenian soldiers, confirming that at least four Armenian
soldiers were wounded in border clashes with Azerbaijani forces, while 12
Armenian soldiers were taken prisoner.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry also said that two Armenian border outposts were lost
in the battles. It said that the situation along the eastern border with
Azerbaijan remained “extremely tense.”
Baku has confirmed that two Azerbaijani troops were wounded in the fighting.
Armenia Appeals To Russia For Protection Of Its Territorial Integrity
Armen Grigorian, secretary of Armenia’s Security Council (file photo)
Armenia appeals to Russia to protect its territorial integrity, stated Secretary
of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigorian on Armenian Public Television
on Tuesday amid reports of heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed
forces along the border of the two South Caucasus countries.
Grigorian said that Azerbaijan’s armed forces launched military operations in
the eastern direction of the Armenian border at 1 pm on November 16, trying to
aggravate the situation along the entire border.
The official said that hostilities are ongoing at the moment as Armenia’s
Ministry of Defense is “taking steps to stabilize the situation.”
“Since the attack is against the sovereign territory of Armenia, we appeal to
the Russian Federation to protect the territorial integrity of Armenia within
the framework of the 1997 agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the
Russian Federation and within the framework of the logic of fulfilling mutual
obligations under the agreement,” Grigorian underscored.
The secretary of Armenia’s Security Council said that his oral application would
also be followed with an application in writing.
“Armenia expects Russia to provide assistance and expects that Armenia will have
the opportunity to restore its territorial integrity,” Grigorian concluded.
Later on Tuesday Russia’s TASS news agency quoted Armenian ambassador to Moscow
Vardan Toghanian as saying that Moscow and Yerevan are currently conducting
consultations via military and diplomatic channels over the escalation along the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Meanwhile, Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that under the UN
Charter, the republic has the right to repel the use of force against its
territorial integrity and sovereignty ‘by all available means.’
“We call on the international community and our international partners – Russia,
the CSTO, the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group and the co-chairing
countries – to respond clearly to these actions [of Azerbaijan] that undermine
regional peace and security, and to take effective steps towards their
prevention and the unconditional and complete withdrawal of Azerbaijani armed
forces from the territory Republic of Armenia,” the ministry said in a statement.
Armenia is a member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization,
a defense pact of former Soviet republics also including Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Armenia also has a bilateral military agreement with Russia and hosts a Russian
military base in its territory.
After days of reported incidents along their border intensive fighting erupted
between Armenia and Azerbaijan today, with both sides accusing each other of
provocations.
Reports from both sides suggest the application of armored vehicles, artillery,
mortars, and other weapons in the current fighting.
So far Baku has reported about two wounded Azerbaijani soldiers. It has also
said that its forces have taken several Armenian soldiers prisoners during the
fighting. Yerevan has confirmed that four Armenian soldiers were wounded during
border fighting in the southern Armenian province of Syunik.
Yerevan has confirmed that 12 Armenian soldiers have been captured by the
Azerbaijani military.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said the situation on the country’s eastern border
with Azerbaijan remained “extremely tense” as of 2:30 pm.
The latest flare-up of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan comes amid a call
from international mediators to de-escalate the situation along the volatile
border.
In a statement issued late on Monday, the American, Russian and French co-chairs
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group also
urged the sides “to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and provocative actions,
and implement in full the commitments they undertook under the November 9
statement and other jointly agreed [Nagorno-Karabakh] ceasefire arrangements.”
Azerbaijan Claims Armenian Soldiers Taken Prisoner In Fresh Border Fighting
An Armenian solider at an army outpost on the border with Azerbaijan (file photo)
Official Baku has claimed that Armenian soldiers have been disarmed and taken
prisoner as a result of the latest clashes along the border between Armenia and
Azerbaijan.
It also said two Azerbaijani soldiers were wounded after coming under intensive
fire from the Armenian side on Tuesday.
Armenia and Azerbaijan today have accused each other of carrying out
provocations at the border, using artillery, armored vehicles and firearms of
different calibers.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry said that as a result of an intensive exchange of
fire the Azerbaijani side has sustained a “loss of materiel.”
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry, for its part, accused Armenian forces of
“carrying out a large-scale military provocation” in the Kalbajar-Lachin area,
which “ended in the disarmament and capture of Armenian soldiers.”
Official sources in Baku did not specify the exact number of Armenian soldiers
who were allegedly taken prisoner.
“Units of the Armenian Armed Forces carried out a large-scale military
provocation. In order to gain military advantage by occupying heights on the
state border, the Armenian Armed Forces carried out a military operation at
11:00 am on November 16,” the official statement of the Azerbaijani Defense
Ministry reads.
The ministry claimed that “the Armenian Armed Forces, concentrating additional
troops and military hardware at their border positions in the Basarkechar and
Garakilsa regions of Armenia, attacked the positions of the Azerbaijani army in
the Kalbajar and Lachin districts of Azerbaijan.”
“Considerable damage was caused to the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces
as a result of intensive fire [from the Armenian side] carried out with the use
of firearms of different calibers and grenade launchers. According to
preliminary data, two servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces were wounded,”
the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.
Official Yerevan has not confirmed the capture of Armenian servicemen yet.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported about retaliatory actions of the Armenian
Armed Forces taken at around 1 pm “in response to Azerbaijani fire and attempts
to advance at the eastern section of the border.”
The Armenian Defense Ministry said the situation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border remained tense as of 2 pm.
The latest flare-up of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan comes amid a call
from international mediators to de-escalate the situation along the volatile
border.
In a statement issued late on Monday, the American, Russian and French co-chairs
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group also
urged the sides “to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and provocative actions,
and implement in full the commitments they undertook under the November 9
statement and other jointly agreed [Nagorno-Karabakh] ceasefire arrangements.”
Armenian Opposition Boycotts Parliament After Incidents Along Azerbaijan Border
Members of the opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem factions are leaving the
Armenian parliament’s chamber in a boycott of the regular session, November 16,
2021
The Armenian parliament’s two opposition factions announced a boycott of a
regular session on Tuesday, accusing the pro-government majority of scuttling
their attempt to discuss what they view to be a more pressing issue concerning
the current border situation.
The Hayastan and Pativ Unem factions sought immediate hearings in parliament on
the situation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on Monday after Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian admitted, during a Security Council session earlier
this day, that Azerbaijani troops had advanced into Armenian territory at one of
the eastern sections of the un-demarcated border.
Baku denied its troops had entered Armenian territory as a result of several
incidents reported along the borders between the two countries over the weekend.
At the same Security Council session Pashinian announced the replacement of
Defense Minister Arshak Karapetian with Suren Papikian, a political figure who
prior to that served as deputy prime minister in the Pashinian government.
Parliament Speaker Alen Simonian, however, did not meet the opposition’s request
late on Monday.
In his remarks during the opening of today’s session Hayastan faction leader
Seyran Ohanian said: “As a sign of protest the Hayastan faction will not take
part in the workings of the regular session.”
Hayk Mamijanian, secretary of the Pativ Unem faction, said that his faction
could not discuss any less pressing issues in the current conditions.
“The opposition factions had demanded a special meeting to get answers from the
government about what is happening at the borders of our homeland. That process
was foiled by the ruling majority. Instead, today we see on the agenda of the
National Assembly an issue of [the utilization] of mercury,” he said.
Mamikanian stressed that members of the Pativ Unem faction will return to the
chamber of plenary sessions “when issues facing our country are discussed in the
order of their importance and priority in terms of threats to our security.”
Members of the two oppositions factions then left the chamber, while the
session, which also has the 2022 state budget on its agenda, continued with the
participation of only representatives of the pro-governing Civil Contract
party’s faction.
Civil Contract holds 71 seats in the 107-member National Assembly and is in a
position to ensure a quorum and adopt laws without the opposition factions.
Armenia Blasts ‘Double Standards’ Over Karabakh Conflict
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (R) at the meeting of the Foreign
Ministers of the Eastern Partnership in Brussels,15Nov,2021
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has blasted the application of double
standards and the use of “generic calls on both sides” in regards to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as he addressed a meeting of the EU Eastern
Partnership’s foreign ministers in Brussels.
In his remarks at the November 15 gathering the top Armenian diplomat accused
Azerbaijan of unleashing military aggression against the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh last year and called on “all partners interested in a
comprehensive settlement of the conflict to express unconditional and full
support to the peace process with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.”
“I want to reiterate that Armenia is ready to reach long-lasting peace and
stability in the South Caucasus. However, peace cannot be achieved by the good
will of one party alone. It is difficult to imagine lasting peace in the region
with the so-called ‘Trophy Park’ in Baku, with continued hate speech and
xenophobia by the high officials of Azerbaijan, with continued imprisonment of
Armenian POWs and other detainees, many cases of enforced disappearances, with
continued infiltration and presence of Azerbaijani troops into sovereign
territory of Armenia, the last attempt of which occurred just yesterday. As much
as Armenia expresses its readiness for de-escalation, Azerbaijan continues
provocations in Nagorno-Karabakh and in the Armenian-Azerbaijani borders
inflicting casualties among civilians. As much as Armenia calls for opening of
regional communication, Azerbaijan continues to demand a so-called ‘corridor’,”
Mirzoyan said.
He noted that while in the beginning Azerbaijan was conditioning the release of
Armenian prisoners of war with obtaining minefields maps, “when Armenia did
propose to provide all maps in anticipation of the release of all captives,
Azerbaijan stepped back, questioning the credibility of the maps.”
Mirzoyan also accused Azerbaijan of impeding access to Nagorno-Karabakh for
international humanitarian organizations, including those that request a
fact-finding mission to determine the state of cultural heritage.
“Generic calls on both sides under the circumstances when Armenia makes credible
steps towards peace, while Azerbaijan continues the escalation of the situation,
may indicate indifference and lack of commitment from our international partners.
“If you want to support us to reach stability in the region, then there is no
other way than being frank on these issues and communicating to us your vision
of human rights and use of force in our region without applying double
standards. We stand ready to be a genuine partner with the European Union in
this regard,” the Armenian foreign minister concluded.
Mediators Urge Armenia, Azerbaijan To De-Escalate Border Situation
An Armenian soldier near a military position along the eastern border between
Armenia and Azerbaijan (file photo)
International mediators have called for an immediate de-escalation of the
situation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border following three days of reported
incidents blamed by Yerevan and Baku on each other.
In a statement released late on November 15 the Co-Chairs of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group, Andrew Schofer of the
United States, Igor Khovaev of Russia, and Brice Roquefeuil of France, said they
“view with deep concern recent incidents in the region, including those along
the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.”
“The Co-Chairs call on the sides to take concrete steps to de-escalate the
situation immediately. The Co-Chairs also urge the sides to refrain from
inflammatory rhetoric and provocative actions, and implement in full the
commitments they undertook under the November 9 statement and other jointly
agreed ceasefire arrangements.
“The recent increase in tension underscores the need for a negotiated,
comprehensive, and sustainable settlement of all remaining issues related to or
resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Co-Chairs urge the sides to
build on the progress made during the joint meetings of the Foreign Ministers of
Armenia and Azerbaijan held under the auspices of the Co-Chairs in New York and
Paris, by continuing to engage in direct dialogue aimed at contributing to
security, stability, and prosperity in the region,” the statement said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Monday accused Azerbaijani troops of
violating the border between the two South Caucasus states and replaced his
defense minister over the alleged incident.
Azerbaijan has denied any violation of Armenia’s borders, insisting that its
troops are stationed in Azerbaijani territory.
“Azerbaijani servicemen are serving in the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan,”
said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva, responding to Pashinian’s
statement.
The situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh was also addressed during a
telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French
President Emmanuel Macron that took place on November 15, the Kremlin said.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.