Category: 2020

​Thousands March in Support of Armenia in Beverly Hills

Maral Chavushian
Spectrum News 1
Oct 11 2020
 
 
 
Thousands March in Support of Armenia in Beverly Hills
 
A large and peaceful crowd of nearly 100,000 people marched Sunday through Beverly Hills in support of Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan and Turkey over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Courtesy LAPD)


By City News Service Beverly Hills
UPDATED 2:00 PM ET Oct. 12, 2020 PUBLISHED 2:00 PM ET Oct. 11, 2020
 
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (CNS) — A crowd estimated to be at least 20,000 people marched Sunday through Beverly Hills and surrounding areas in support of Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan and Turkey over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
 
“Artsakh Under Attack: March for Victory” began around 3:30 p.m. at Pan Pacific Park near Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, according to Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division. The destination was the Turkish Consulate at Wilshire and La Cienega boulevards in Beverly Hills.
 

Traffic restrictions were in effect in the area, according to Beverly Hills police.

Around 7:10 p.m., Beverly Hills police tweeted that the peaceful march and demonstration in support of Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan and Turkey was ending outside the Turkish Consulate and marchers were leaving the area. Police were continuing to monitor the situation, the department reported.

“We stand with our brothers and sisters in Armenia and Artsakh and the diaspora in L.A.” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted Sunday afternoon. “We welcome the ceasefire and it must be respected. We need our national leadership to step up and help bring peace to the region. Turkey must disengage.”

A statement from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense accused Armenia of violating a temporary ceasefire brokered by Russia this weekend. Azerbaijani authorities said four women were among at least nine people killed when a residential building compound was hit during an Armenian bombardment of Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second-largest city.

Los Angeles County is home to the nation’s largest population of Armenian immigrants, and multiple demonstrations have taken place over the past week against what many of them call Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia and Nagorno-Karaabakh, also known as Artsakh.

The mountainous region is controlled by ethnic Armenians but is inside Azerbaijani territory.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in conflicts for years, but the situation escalated in July when Azerbaijan threatened to blow up a nuclear power plant in Armenia.


Hikmet Hajiyev, an adviser to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, said the attack likely came from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian officials called those allegations “absolute lies.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian introduced a resolution a week and a half ago that was immediately passed by the City Council condemning the actions of the Azeri government.

Krekorian is of Armenian descent.

Nasimi Aghayev, Azerbaijan’s consul general to the Western United States, issued the following statement on Sunday:

“Armenia violated the ceasefire within just a few hours after it was agreed upon on Friday night and started bombing Azerbaijani civilians. Last night, Armenia sent guided ballistic missiles into Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second largest city, which is 100 kilometers far from the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region. The missile attack wiped out an entire neighborhood of Ganja, killing nine and wounding 34 Azerbaijani civilians in their sleep. It is a war crime.

“This is a new war of aggression and occupation unleashed by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia is bombing our major cities, using even the banned cluster bombs. As a result, 41 Azerbaijani civilians, including three children, have been killed and over 200 Azerbaijani civilians have been injured. Azerbaijan defends itself, its civilians. All the fighting takes place within the borders of Azerbaijan.

“In the early 1990s, Armenia  illegally invaded and occupied 20% of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory, expelling 800,000 Azerbaijanis from the occupied regions, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts.

“The United Nations and the United States condemned this illegal occupation and demanded that the Armenian forces withdraw from Azerbaijan. Armenia refused to comply and has kept the territories of Azerbaijan under its illegal military occupation, not allowing 800,000 Azerbaijanis to return to their homes.

“Azerbaijan wants peace. For peace to happen, Armenia must withdraw its armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as demanded by UN, and allow forcibly displaced Azerbaijanis to return to their homes.  Then, the Azerbaijanis and Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will build a prosperous future together, living in peace again as they did so for many  centuries.”

Aghayev released a videotaped statement last weekend saying, “Azerbaijan is defending itself, its civilian population, on its own soil and with its own armed forces.”

Aghayev denied that religion has played a role in the conflict and described portrayals of it as such as “propaganda advanced by Armenia and its allies.”

In addition to the ongoing pro-Armenian protests in Los Angeles, the Armenian community has been on the street raising millions of dollars to send back to Armenia and Artsakh as humanitarian aid, according to Maria Mehranian, president of the Glendale-based Armenian Fund. The money includes a $1 million donation to the fund by reality television personality Kim Kardashian West.


“The money is going to Armenia to assist for building temporary shelters for displaced civilians, to do transport of children that are homeless right now, medical aid for civilians that are injured, and food to make sure that they survive,” Mehranian told Fox11.


 

Artsakh’s army excellently carries out its military tasks – President’s spokesperson

Hambardsumian Paul

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 19:56,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Army of Artsakh excellently carries out its military tasks, ARMENPRESS reports spokesperson of Artsakh’s President Vahram Poghosyan wrote on his Facebook page, referring to the Azerbaijani offense attempts in the southern direction of the contact line.

‘’South is again turbulent, but the Defense Army carries out its tasks excellently’’, Poghosyan wrote.

On October 9 a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs mediated by Russian FM. Aetsakh has voiced about numerous cases of the ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan since the agreement entered into force, including launching missile strikes against cities and settlements of Artsakh.

Azerbaijani armed forces also launched attempts of offensive in the evening of October 11 in the north-eastern and southern directions.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Artsakh’s people facing humanitarian disaster due to prohibited weapons used by Azerbaijan

Ani Kharatian

Artsakh’s people facing humanitarian disaster  due to prohibited weapons used by Azerbaijan

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 21:14,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The people of Artsakh are facing humanitarian disaster, because Azerbaijan uses prohibited weapons that can for years endanger the lives of civilians, particularly children, ARMENPRESS reports Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan said in a press conference.

‘’We are facing humanitarian disaster. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands unexploded explosives in Stepanakert and other settlements that can for years endanger the lives and health of civilians, particularly children.

I want to emphasize this fact because at the age of 6 I myself was injured by an explosion of Azerbaijani mine and lost my sight after the war (1st war-edit.). Hundreds of children like me lost their lives or health. Not only children, but the cases were more among the children’’, Beglaryan said.

According to him, Azerbaijani armed forces deliberately use prohibited weapons in densely-populated areas of Artsakh to cause humanitarian disaster.

‘’Adequate reaction and punishment is necessary. The international community has much to do for stopping and preventing this humanitarian disaster as soon as possible’’, Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender said.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Turkish F-16 fighter jets continue coordinating UAV attacks of Azerbaijan

Boshkezenian Garik

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 22:16,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The Turkish F-16 fighter jets continue coordinate the UAV attacks of Azerbaijani armed forces, representative of MoD Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan said in a press conference on October 11.

‘’The Turkish air forces continue to control the activities of the Azerbaijani air forces. Particularly, with the support of air control points, 6 Turkish F-16 fighter jets accompany Turkish and Israeli-made combat UAVs that strike Artsah’s infrastructures, communication channels and armed forces. These acts are prevented by the air defense units of the Defense Army’’, Hovhannisyan said.

On September 29 a Turkish F-16 fighter jet downed an Armenian SU-25 jet in the Armenian air space. The pilot did not survive.

Azerbaijan unleashed war against Artsakh on September 27. In addition to the military and political support of Turkey to Azerbaijan, Turkey has also deployed thousands of mercenary-terrorists in Azerbaijan to fight against Artsakh.

On October 9 a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs mediated by Russian FM. Aetsakh has voiced about numerous cases of the ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan since the agreement entered into force, including launching missile strikes against cities and settlements of Artsakh.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Azerbaijan fired long-range, large-caliber multiple rocket launchers at Stepanakert

Emil Karabekian

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 22:31,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Stepanakert was bombed from long-range, large-caliber multiple rocket launchers on October 10, representative of MoD Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan said in a press conference on October 11.

On October 9 a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs mediated by Russian FM. Aetsakh has voiced about numerous cases of the ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan since the agreement entered into force, including launching missile strikes against cities and settlements of Artsakh.

On October 11 Azerbaijani armed forces made offensive attempts in the north-eastern and southern directions.

5 civilians in Artsakh were killed by Azerbaijani forces after the declaration of the ceasefire and 20 were killed before.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

EU urges to strictly respect ceasefire agreement

Lilit Nahapetian

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 23:12,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The EU urges to strictly respect the humanitarian ceasefire agreement reached during the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on October 9.

‘’ The EU welcomes the agreement reached on 10 October on a humanitarian ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The EU urges the sides to strictly abide by this agreement and calls on all actors, including external parties, to refrain from any actions that may lead to further casualties. In this respect, we note with extreme concern the reports of continued military activities, including against civilian targets, as well as civilian casualties and urge the sides to ensure full respect of the agreement on the ground.

The EU calls upon the sides to engage in substantive negotiations without delay under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, without preconditions and on the basis of the agreed upon principles.

The EU continues to support the work of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in seeking a negotiated political solution to the conflict and will remain engaged in efforts towards lasting peace in the region’’, ARMENPRESS reports reads the Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union.

On October 9 a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs mediated by Russian FM. Aetsakh has voiced about numerous cases of the ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan since the agreement entered into force, including launching missile strikes against cities and settlements of Artsakh.

On October 11 Azerbaijani armed forces made offensive attempts in the north-eastern and southern directions.

5 civilians in Artsakh were killed by Azerbaijani forces after the declaration of the ceasefire and 20 were killed before.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Azerbaijanis target ambulance vehicle transporting injured after ceasefire was declared

Yeghisabet Arthur

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 23:20,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Health Minister of Armenia Arsen Torosyan sent a letter to the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus over the Azerbaijani military encroachments against the Republic of Artsakh, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Health of Armenia.

Minister Torosyan notes in the letter that the Azerbaijani aggression takes place under the light of global health crisis, which is severely  hampering the national, regional and global Covid19 response efforts and facilitating the spread of the virus. The Health Minister of Armenia notes that even on October 11, when a ceasefire was already declared, Azerbaijan targeted an ambulance transporting the wounded.

‘’Dear Dr. Ghebreyesus,

I am writing to express my grave concern regarding the military attack of Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

Today, when the whole world is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, when the international community is mobilizing its efforts to mitigate socio-economic consequences of the pandemic, and when all the leaders, including the UN Secretary-General, are calling for a global ceasefire, the Azerbaijani armed forces, launched large-scale airborne, missile and land attack along the entire line of contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, targeting civilian settlements, infrastructure, and schools, including in the capital city of Stepanakert resulting in numerous civilian casualties and destruction. The aggression of Azerbaijan is happening in the midst of the global health crisis which is severely hampering the national, regional and global Covid19 response efforts and facilitating the spread of the virus.

The military attack unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and perpetrated with the direct involvement of Turkey and the Turkish-backed foreign terrorist fighters have led to the most intense and destructive escalation in the region since the 1990s. This genocidal Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance brings more destruction and devastation while the COVID-19 pandemic keeps spreading.

Despite the constant shelling of civilian objects, including humanitarian and environmental ones, our medical personnel perform their duty, fighting for the lives of the wounded, including foreign journalists, severely injured as a result of deliberate attacks of the Azerbaijani armed forces. Unfortunately, several medical workers lost their lives while conducting their duty. Even on October 11, when a ceasefire was already declared, Azerbaijan targeted an ambulance transporting the wounded.

Dear Director-General,

Currently, we are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe in the Republic of Artsakh, when civilians are deprived of essential medical services and are horrified by bombings and rocket strikes. The entire peaceful population, including children and the elderly, is under permanent danger to lose their lives and health.

We urge the World Health Organization which is a leading organization involved in the global coordination for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic to take appropriate measures to stop the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the military aggression of Azerbaijan and aggravated by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If this massive military aggression by Azerbaijan continues to target the civilian population and infrastructure in the Nagorno-Karabakh, the international public health community’s ability to protect the most vulnerable people from the virus will be severely compromised’’, reads the letter.

On October 9 a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs mediated by Russian FM. Aetsakh has voiced about numerous cases of the ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan since the agreement entered into force, including launching missile strikes against cities and settlements of Artsakh.

On October 11 Azerbaijani armed forces made offensive attempts in the north-eastern and southern directions.

5 civilians in Artsakh were killed by Azerbaijani forces after the declaration of the ceasefire and 20 were killed before.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

CivilNet: Israel’s Scholars Call for the Cessation of Israeli Arm Sales to Azerbaijan

Parkev Tvankchian
CIVILNET.AM

09:18

The following is a collective statement from a group of Israeli scholars working in the field of Caucasian Studies and associated fields.

Institutional affiliations are for identification purposes only and do not reflect the opinion of the universities mentioned.

“We the undersigned write to express our deep concern with the fighting that has flared up in the region of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh). From a reading of independent accounts and analysis we have concluded that this outbreak of violence in the last few days is due solely to aggression of the Republic of Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey and backed up by fighters from elsewhere in the region. This belligerence has been directed towards military and civilian targets in the region of Artsakh and its mainly Armenian population, and deserves to be condemned in no uncertain terms. The response of the authorities of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia is clearly one of defense of population, property and territory, and should enjoy the support of those who cherish the principle of self-determination of peoples.

We call for an end to this aggression, and a cessation of the fighting. The long-term answer to tension in the region is on-going negotiations that will aim to resolve the claims of various ethnic groups, leading to a mutually agreed upon political arrangement. Clearly, violence of any type will not resolve ethnic and other tensions.

It is with dismay that we address the matter of Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan in recent years, this being one component in the massive armament process in that country. We call upon the Israeli government to cease immediately the sales of arms to Azerbaijan, pending a review of the issue by the government and Knesset. Matters of would-be Realpolitik, as reflected here in arm sales, are not the only basis for foreign policy. Certainly, one needs to question Israel’s role in an armament effort aimed mainly against a people that like the Jewish people suffered genocidal attacks in the twentieth century. We call upon other Israelis to raise their voice on this important issue.”

(in alphabetical order)
Prof. Reuven Amitai (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Prof. Yair Auron (Open University of Israel)
Prof. Israel Charny (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Ms. Moran Deitch (Bar Ilan University)
Prof. Benjamin Z. Kedar (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Mr. Yoav Loeff (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Prof. Benny Morris (Ben Gurion University in the Negev)
Dr. Yakir Paz (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Prof. Eli Richter (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Prof. Donna Shalev (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Mr. Marc Sherman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Prof. Michael Stone (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Dr. Yana Tchekhanovets (Ben Gurion University in the Negev)
Prof. Dror Zeevi (Ben Gurion University in the Negev)

For further information, contact: 

​Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of violating Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire

Chalian Meline
Reuters
Oct 10 2020
 
 
 
Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of violating Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire
 
Nvard Hovhannisyan and Nailia Bagirova
 
 
REUTERS
 
YEREVAN/BAKU (Reuters) – Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of swiftly and seriously violating the terms of a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday, raising questions about how meaningful the truce, brokered by Russia, would turn out to be.
 
The ceasefire, clinched after marathon talks in Moscow advocated by President Vladimir Putin, was meant to halt fighting to allow ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azeri forces to swap prisoners and war dead.
 
The Moscow talks were the first diplomatic contact between the two since fighting over the mountainous enclave erupted on Sept. 27, killing hundreds of people.
 
 
The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.
 
Within minutes of the truce taking effect from midday, both sides accused each other of breaking it.
 
The Armenian defence ministry accused Azerbaijan of shelling a settlement inside Armenia, while ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh alleged that Azeri forces had launched a new offensive five minutes after the truce took hold.
 
Azerbaijan said enemy forces in Karabakh were shelling Azeri territory. Both sides have consistently denied each others’ assertions in what has also become a war of words accompanying the fighting.
 
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told Russia’s RBC news outlet that the warring parties were now engaged in trying to find a political settlement, but suggested there would be further fighting ahead.
 
“We’ll go to the very end and get what rightfully belongs to us,” he said.
 
Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said the truce would last only for as long as it took for the Red Cross to arrange the exchange of the dead.
 
Speaking at a briefing in Baku, he said Azerbaijan hoped and expected to take control of more territory in time.
 
Armenia’s foreign ministry said it was using all diplomatic channels to try to support the truce, while Nagorno-Karabakh’s foreign ministry accused Azerbaijan of using ceasefire talks as cover to ready military action.
 
‘RUSSIA CANNOT AFFORD TO STEP BACK’
 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who had mediated over 10 hours of talks, said in a statement early on Saturday that the ceasefire had been agreed on humanitarian grounds.
 
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it stood ready to facilitate the handover of bodies of those killed in action and the simultaneous release of detainees.
 
 
 
Lavrov said Armenia and Azerbaijan had also agreed to enter into what he called substantive peace talks.
 
Those talks would be held under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group, he said.
 
Azerbaijan has said it wants a change in the talks’ format, has spoken of wanting to get Turkey involved too, and on Saturday accused France of not being a neutral mediator.
 
Putin spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani by phone on Saturday about the deal, the Kremlin said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter the deal was a step towards peace.
 
Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center and a former colonel in the Russian army, said on Twitter that any peace talks were likely to fail and that Azerbaijan would continue to press for Armenian forces to leave the enclave, something Armenia would not accept.
 
Russia could not afford to step back, he said.
 
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“For Russia, the most important issues in the South Caucasus are the security of Russian borders from jihadis coming from the Middle East and elsewhere, and Turkey’s rising role in the region,” wrote Trenin.
 
“This means that Moscow can’t walk away from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and allow a war to rage”.
 
Renewed fighting in the decades-old conflict has raised fears of a wider war drawing in Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a defence pact with Armenia.
 
The clashes have also increased concern about the security of pipelines that carry Azeri oil and gas to Europe.
 
The fighting is the worst since a 1991-94 war that killed about 30,000 people and ended with a ceasefire that has been violated repeatedly.
 
Turkey welcomed the ceasefire deal but said much more was needed.
 
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“The humanitarian ceasefire is a significant first step but will not stand for a lasting solution,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. “Turkey will continue to stand by Azerbaijan in the field and at the table”.
 
The Azeri and Turkish foreign ministers also spoke by phone on Saturday.
 
(Additional reporting by Maria Tsvetkova in Moscow and Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi, Ezgi Erkoyun in Turkey and John Irish in Paris; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Mark Potter, Ros Russell and Frances Kerry)
 
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Armenia, Azerbaijan say Nagorno-Karabakh truce fails to hold

Arsine Chaltikian
Fox News
Oct 10 2020
 
 
 
They immediately accused each other of derailing the deal
 
By Associated Press
 
 
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russia-brokered cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting 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-century.
 
The two sides traded blame for breaking the truce that took effect at noon (0800 GMT) with new attacks, and Azerbaijan’s top diplomat said the truce never entered force.
 
The cease-fire announcement came overnight after 10 hours of talks in Moscow sponsored by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The deal stipulated that the cease-fire 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 Defense 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 cease-fire are currently missing” amid the continuing Armenian shelling.
 
Armenia’s Defense Ministry denied any truce violations by the Armenian forces.
 
The latest outburst of fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces began Sept. 27 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 control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia.
 
Since the start of the latest fighting, Armenia said it was open to a cease-fire, 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 Russian President Vladimir Putin had brokered it in a series of calls with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
 
ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN FIGHTING KILLS DOZENS AS TENSIONS MOUNT IN DECADES-OLD CONFLICT
 
Russia has co-sponsored peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh together 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 haven’t produced any deal, leaving Azerbaijan increasingly exasperated.
 
Speaking in an address to the nation Friday hours before the cease-fire 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 has 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 Sept. 27. Azerbaijan hasn’t provided details on its military losses. Scores of civilians on both sides also have been killed.
 
The current escalation marked the first time that Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey 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 has denied deploying combatants to the region, but a Syrian war monitor and three Syria-based opposition activists have confirmed that Turkey has sent hundreds of Syrian opposition fighters to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh.
 
In an interview with CNN Arabic aired Thursday, Azerbaijan’s president admitted that 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 warplane, a claim that both Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied.
 
Turkey’s involvement in the conflict raised painful memories in Armenia, where an estimated 1.5 million died in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915. The event is widely viewed by historians as genocide, but Turkey denies that.
 
DEATH TOLL SOARS AS ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT ESCALATES: ‘THIS IS A FIGHT AGAINST JIHADISTS’
 
Turkey’s highly visible role in the confrontation worried Russia, which has a military base in Armenia. Russia and Armenia are linked by a security treaty obliging Moscow to offer support to its ally if it comes under aggression.
 
But at the same time, Russia has sought to maintain strong economic and political ties with oil-rich Azerbaijan and ward off Turkey’s attempt to increase its influence in the South Caucasus without ruining its delicate relations with Ankara.
 
Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have negotiated a series of deals to coordinate their conflicting interests in Syria and Libya and expanded their economic ties. Last year, NATO member Turkey took the delivery of the Russian S-400 air defense missiles, a move that angered Washington.
A lasting cease-fire 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, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan emphasized that “no other country, in particular Turkey, can play any role.”