UN chief concerned over targeting of populated areas in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone

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 12:50, 6 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the continuing escalation of violence in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, reminding all sides of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, the statement issued by his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reads.

The Secretary-General “is gravely concerned by reports of the extension of hostilities, including the targeting of populated areas”.

The Secretary-General also underlined that there is no military solution to the conflict and urged to immediately cease all hostilities.  He appealed to all relevant regional and international actors to actively exercise their influence to achieve an urgent end to the fighting and return to negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. 

Also on Monday, at a regular press briefing, Mr. Dujarric provided a humanitarian update on Nagorno Karabakh, noting that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) remains deeply concerned about the ongoing hostilities along the line of contact in the conflict zone. 

On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack against the Republic of Artsakh, targeting also the civilian settlements, including the capital Stepanakert and the city of Shushi. In addition, the Azerbaijani armed forces have also targeted Armenia’s military and civilian infrastructures.

21 civilians in Artsakh and Armenia were killed, 80 were wounded as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression.

219 servicemen and volunteers have been killed in Artsakh from the Azerbaijani attacks.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenia denies Azeri allegations on opening fire, slams Baku’s attempts to mislead int’l community

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 13:45, 6 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Defense has denied as disinformation the Azerbaijani reports alleging that Armenian Armed Forces are bombarding Azeri civilian settlements.

“The Azerbaijani side continues to spread fake information alleging that the Armenian Armed Forces are shelling Azerbaijan’s peaceful settlements. The Azerbaijani military-political leadership continues its methods of misleading the international community and their own people. We are hereby announcing that no fire from any type of weapons was opened in the direction of Azerbaijan,” Armenian Ministry of Defense spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan said.

“At the same time, it is obvious that this disinformation by the official Baku is aimed at preparing grounds for restarting combat operations by ignoring the international community’s, namely the [OSCE Minsk Group] Co-Chairing countries’ statements calling for an immediate suspension of hostilities,” she said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

US rapper Cardi B calls on to participate in fundraising organized for Artsakh

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 13:12, 6 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. American rapper, songwriter, television personality, and actress Cardi B calls on to participate in the fundraising organized for assisting Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).

She made a story on Instagram, calling on her over 76 million followers to participate in the fundraising.

Her spouse, rapper Offset, also made a similar story on Instagram.

A number of celebrities, including Kim Kardashian West, Kanye West, Xzibit, Elton John, The Game, have also made similar posts, expressing their support to Artsakh and Armenia.

The Hayastan All Armenian Fund has launched a fundraising titled “We Are Our Borders; All For Artsakh” aimed at assisting the Republic of Artsakh. More than 58 million USD funds have already been raised.

On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack against the Republic of Artsakh, targeting also the civilian settlements, including the capital Stepanakert and the city of Shushi. In addition, the Azerbaijani armed forces have also targeted Armenia’s military and civilian infrastructures.

21 civilians in Artsakh and Armenia were killed, 80 were wounded as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression.

219 servicemen and volunteers have been killed in Artsakh from the Azerbaijani attacks.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian Embassy denies reports on Georgia’s obstruction to import of fuel

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 13:43, 6 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Embassy in Georgia denies the media reports according to which Georgia is obstructing the import of fuel to Armenia and also refuses to allow the transportation of humanitarian aid to Armenia.

“These reports have nothing to do with the reality. There is no problem with the delivery of both fuel and humanitarian aid. The Armenian Embassy in Georgia is in constant touch with the Georgian relevant authorities. Nevertheless, in case when a problem emerges with the transit via Georgia, please immediately contact the Armenian Embassy for solving the issue”, the Embassy said in a statement, at the same time urging not to spread disinformation as it directly affects Armenia’s state interests.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Turkish foreign minister visits Baku

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 13:52, 6 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, he said on Twitter.

It’s already 10 days the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against Artsakh and Armenia continues.

On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack against the Republic of Artsakh, targeting also the civilian settlements, including the capital Stepanakert and the city of Shushi. In addition, the Azerbaijani armed forces have also targeted Armenia’s military and civilian infrastructures.

From the very first days Armenia has voiced about Turkey’s direct engagement to the Azerbaijani military operations. In particular, Turkey has sent mercenaries, terrorist fighters from Syria to Azerbaijan in order to attack Artsakh.

Leaders of a number of countries expressed their concern over the involvement of Turkey in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that he has facts about Syrian Islamists from Turkey participating in the military operations against Artsakh.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has also confirmed that Turkey is sending jihadists from Syria to fight against Karabakh.

Russia has also announced that it possesses facts about the involvement of Syrian mercenaries in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

This information has also been confirmed by an official in 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1030538.html?fbclid=IwAR0OXWSs_qmuQsgF_tpg5WU5YJM6Y1iUXvb1TW6mAX1iK2gvgefb-mzfh5M

Artsakh withdraws troops from some frontline sections for tactical considerations

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 17:26, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. In some sections of the frontline the Defense Army of Artsakh has withdrawn its troops for tactical considerations. Spokesperson of Artsakh’s President Vahram Poghosyan presented the main reason for that. ‘’For avoiding unreasonable speculations I have to mention that for tactical considerations the Defense Army has withdrawn its troops in some sections of the frontline, in order to

  1. avoid extra casualties
  2. inflict heavy losses on the hostile forces

In terms of both we have significant achievements

The command staff of the army continues to skillfully organize the operations and the day when we will see the dismantled army of the enemy fleeing in panic is not far away. The decision is final, we will not stop’’, ARMENPRESS reports Poghosyan said.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 05-10-20

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 17:39, 5 October, 2020

YEREVAN, 5 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 5 October, USD exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 488.59 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.85 drams to 574.39 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 6.24 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.65 drams to 632.77 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 15.88 drams to 29894.12 drams. Silver price up by 3.84 drams to 374.88 drams. Platinum price down by 110.25 drams to 13996.3 drams.

In diplomatic vacuum, Armenian and Azerbaijani positions harden

EurasiaNet.org
Oct 5 2020
Joshua Kucera Oct 5, 2020

Azerbaijan will not stop its offensive until Armenia formally agrees to withdraw its forces from Azerbaijani territory, President Ilham Aliyev has said. The condition is inconceivable for the Armenian side to accept, suggesting that the ongoing war has no clear end in sight.

Aliyev laid out the condition even before the fighting started, on September 25, but he repeated it more explicitly in an address to the nation on October 4.

In the speech, he said that world leaders have been calling him and asking him what it will take for Azerbaijan to restore the ceasefire. “My condition is the same – to leave our lands,” he said.

He issued several other conditions that are nearly as impossible for Armenians to accept, including that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan “apologize to the Azerbaijani people” for saying in a speech last year that “Karabakh is Armenia – period!”

“The last condition is to give us a schedule for a withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories,” Aliyev said. “Then, of course, we will restore the ceasefire.”

For Azerbaijanis, “occupied territories” refers to both the former Soviet Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and the other territory surrounding Karabakh that Armenian forces also control. Armenians captured those territories in a war between the two sides as the Soviet Union collapsed, and since then Azerbaijan has been seeking to get them back, either through a peace deal or force.

The framework under which the negotiations between the two sides have been taking place envisages mutual concessions, including a withdrawal of Armenian forces from at least some of the territory they now control. But that would be accompanied by concessions from Azerbaijan, as well.

Both sides have increasingly been calling into question that framework, known as the Madrid Principles, but until now the process has still been on life support. The widening conflict is quickly snuffing it out, however.

Aliyev made his maximalist claims in a near diplomatic vacuum around the conflict. There has been little apparent international effort to bring the two sides together to stop the fighting, the heaviest since the Armenians and Azerbaijanis signed a ceasefire ending the first war in 1994.

Russia, traditionally the most active diplomatic player in the conflict, has been conspicuous by its absence. The United States, even more so. The Minsk Group of the OSCE, the diplomatic body tasked with mediating the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, hasn’t issued a statement since September 29.

By far the most active international player has been Turkey but it has only been fanning the flames of the conflict. Senior Turkish officials are regularly cheering on Azerbaijan’s military offensive and Ankara is providing military assistance, though the scope of the latter is still unclear.

Armenia would never have accepted Aliyev’s unilateral conditions, and even less so under what is effectively a violent ultimatum.

And Armenia appears to be going in the opposite direction, repeatedly floating the idea that it might formally recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent country.

"Yes, our agenda includes the issue of recognizing the independence of Nagorno Karabakh,” Pashinyan told journalists on September 30. He repeated the suggestion in an interview with Al Jazeera aired on October 3.

Karabakh’s de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been more assertively backing the idea, campaigning to get not only Armenia but other countries as well to recognize the entity.

“We call on the international community to recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh in order to ensure the rights of the citizens of Artsakh to life and peaceful development,” the MFA said in an October 3 statement, using the Armenian word for Karabakh. “In the current situation, the international recognition of Artsakh is the only effective mechanism to restore peace and security in the region.”

The MFA also has started a hashtag, #RecognizeArtsakh, which has been picked up by many Armenian social media users.

Although Armenia heavily backs the de facto Nagorno Karabakh Republic, it – along with every other country in the world – has declined to formally recognize it. Formal recognition of Karabakh, too, would effectively scuttle the negotiations; one of the Madrid Principles is that the final status of Karabakh would be determined by a referendum.

Both Armenians and Azerbaijanis have also making rhetorical demands that only their side could control Karabakh, but formal recognition by Armenia would nevertheless be a step beyond.

Recognition “would be a complete destruction of the negotiation process,” Aliyev’s senior foreign policy adviser, Hikmet Hajiyev, told reporters on October 1.

Following this scale of fighting, however, it is hard to imagine them surviving in any case.

 

Joshua Kucera is the Turkey/Caucasus editor at Eurasianet, and author of The Bug Pit.

Azerbaijan lays down these conditions to end deadliest war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh region

Zee news, India
Oct 5 2020
 
 
 
The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has put forward some conditions to end the war.
 
 
The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan continued for the ninth day on Monday even as both countries have rejected the international community's appeal to end the war. The fighting over the region began on September 27 and has escalated to its deadliest level since the 1990s.
 
Meanwhile, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has put forward some conditions to end the war saying that if Armenia accepts these conditions, then Azerbaijan will stop the war. Aliyev said that the Armenian army has occupied the territory which it had lost in the 1990s and is deliberately inciting war.
 
If the Armenian army immediately withdraws from the territory, fully describes the withdrawal deadline and apologizes for what they have done, then Azerbaijan is ready to end the war.
 
This is the only way: Aliyev said that Armenia must accept the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, this is the only way to end the war. He further said that the international community has failed to implement the UN resolutions and to pressurize the withdrawal of the Armenian army from Azerbaijan's areas of influence.
 
Intent: It is clear from Aliyev's stance that he has no intention of accepting Russia, US and EU's ceasefire request. At the same time, immediately after Aliyev's speech, the Armenian Defence Ministry has also issued a statement. The Ministry said that there is no threat to us, but still, we are ready to deal with every situation. Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had also made it clear that he is not ready for talks with Azerbaijan.
 
This is the biggest danger: Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are accusing each other of inciting war. Civilians have also been targeted from both sides. Seeing the danger of the involvement of superpowers like Russia in this war, both the nations are being appealed to settle the dispute with peace. Several countries including the US have appealed to Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop the war. The danger of Russia, Turkey, France, Iran and Israel joining the war has also increased.
 
This is the root of the dispute: The major reason for the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was part of the former Soviet Union, is the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan calls the mountainous region of this region as its own, while Armenia has occupied this region. The area has been under Armenia's occupation since the fighting ended in 1994. In 2016 too, there was a bloody war between the two countries over this area, in which 200 people were killed. Now both countries are face to face once again.
 
Aliyev on Monday said that Turkey must be involved in the peace process for the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Reuters reported quoting the RIA news agency. The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh resumed Monday morning, with both sides accusing each other of launching attacks.
 
Armenian military officials on Monday reported missile strikes hitting Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994. Firefights of varying intensity continue to rage" in the conflict zone, Armenian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said on Facebook.
 
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, in turn, accused Armenian forces of shelling the towns of Tartar, Barda and Beylagan. Ganja, Azerbaijan's second-largest city far outside of the conflict zone, is also under fire, officials said. Armenia's Foreign Ministry in a statement dismissed allegations of the attacks being launched from Armenia's territory as a disinformation campaign waged by Azerbaijan.
 
                                                           
 
The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan continued for the ninth day on Monday even as both countries have rejected the international community's appeal to end the war. The fighting over the region began on September 27 and has escalated to its deadliest level since the 1990s.
 
Meanwhile, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has put forward some conditions to end the war saying that if Armenia accepts these conditions, then Azerbaijan will stop the war. Aliyev said that the Armenian army has occupied the territory which it had lost in the 1990s and is deliberately inciting war.
 
If the Armenian army immediately withdraws from the territory, fully describes the withdrawal deadline and apologizes for what they have done, then Azerbaijan is ready to end the war.
 
This is the only way: Aliyev said that Armenia must accept the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, this is the only way to end the war. He further said that the international community has failed to implement the UN resolutions and to pressurize the withdrawal of the Armenian army from Azerbaijan's areas of influence.
 
Intent: It is clear from Aliyev's stance that he has no intention of accepting Russia, US and EU's ceasefire request. At the same time, immediately after Aliyev's speech, the Armenian Defence Ministry has also issued a statement. The Ministry said that there is no threat to us, but still, we are ready to deal with every situation. Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had also made it clear that he is not ready for talks with Azerbaijan.
 
This is the biggest danger: Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are accusing each other of inciting war. Civilians have also been targeted from both sides. Seeing the danger of the involvement of superpowers like Russia in this war, both the nations are being appealed to settle the dispute with peace. Several countries including the US have appealed to Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop the war. The danger of Russia, Turkey, France, Iran and Israel joining the war has also increased.
 
This is the root of the dispute: The major reason for the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was part of the former Soviet Union, is the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan calls the mountainous region of this region as its own, while Armenia has occupied this region. The area has been under Armenia's occupation since the fighting ended in 1994. In 2016 too, there was a bloody war between the two countries over this area, in which 200 people were killed. Now both countries are face to face once again.
 
Aliyev on Monday said that Turkey must be involved in the peace process for the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Reuters reported quoting the RIA news agency. The fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh resumed Monday morning, with both sides accusing each other of launching attacks.
 
Armenian military officials on Monday reported missile strikes hitting Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994. Firefights of varying intensity continue to rage" in the conflict zone, Armenian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said on Facebook.
 
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, in turn, accused Armenian forces of shelling the towns of Tartar, Barda and Beylagan. Ganja, Azerbaijan's second-largest city far outside of the conflict zone, is also under fire, officials said. Armenia's Foreign Ministry in a statement dismissed allegations of the attacks being launched from Armenia's territory as a disinformation campaign waged by Azerbaijan.
 
Vahram Poghosyan, spokesman for Nagorno-Karabakh's leader, on Monday warned in a Facebook post that the territory's forces would target military facilities in Azerbaijani cities in response to strikes on Stepanakert and Shushi, a town in Nagorno-Karabakh. The fighting erupted September 27 and has killed dozens, marking the biggest escalation in the decades-old conflict over the region. Both sides have accused each other of expanding the hostilities beyond the conflict zone in Nagorno-Karabakh.
 
Nagorno-Karabakh officials have said nearly 200 servicemen on their side have died in the clashes so far. Eighteen civilians have been killed and more than 90 others wounded. Azerbaijani authorities haven't given details about their military casualties but said 24 civilians were killed and 121 others were wounded.
 
 
 
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 substantial areas outside the territory's formal borders.
 
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly said that Armenia's withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh is the sole condition to end the fighting. Armenian officials allege that 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 that a cease-fire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus. Turkey's government has denied sending arms or foreign fighters, while publicly siding with Azerbaijan in the dispute.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fears grow for civilians as Karabakh fighting rages

CTV News, Canada
5 Oct 2020

AFP Staff              

Published Monday, October 5, 2020 8:43AM EDT

GORIS, ARMENIA — Clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces were raging on Monday over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region as fears grew for civilians after the two sides began shelling major cities.

Separatist forces in Karabakh — an ethnic Armenian enclave that broke away from Azerbaijan in the 1990s — reported firefights along the frontline and the regional capital Stepanakert under heavy artillery fire.

Azerbaijan's defence ministry said Armenian forces were shelling several towns, including the country's second-largest city Ganja which was first hit on Sunday.

Increasing artillery fire on urban areas has raised concerns of mass civilian casualties if the fierce fighting, which has already killed nearly 250 people, continues to escalate.

The clashes broke out on September 27, re-igniting a decades-old conflict between the ex-Soviet neighbours over Karabakh and threatening to draw in regional powers like Russia and Turkey.

Neither side has shown any sign of backing down, ignoring international calls for a ceasefire and a return to long-stalled negotiations on the region.

Stepanakert, a city of some 50,000 in the heart of the mountainous province, has been under steady artillery fire since Friday, with residents cramming in to underground shelters.

The separatists' foreign ministry said Monday that shelling of Stepanakert had resumed at 6:30 a.m. (0230 GMT).

It released video footage of repeated bursts of heavy shelling and of debris from seriously damaged blocks of flats, claiming Azerbaijan had used cluster munitions.

Azerbaijan said Armenian forces were shelling Ganja and the towns of Beylagan, Barda and Terter.

Hikmet Hajiyev, an adviser to President Ilham Aliyev, accused the Armenians of "attacking densely populated civilian areas".

"Barbarism and vandalism. Sign of weakness and panic," he wrote on Twitter.

'INDISCRIMINATE SHELLING'

The two sides have reported 245 deaths since the fighting erupted, including 43 civilians, but the real total is expected to be much higher as both sides are claiming to have inflicted heavy military casualties.

The separatist government has reported 202 deaths among its forces, while Azerbaijan has not released any figures on its military casualties.

The International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday condemned the reports of "indiscriminate shelling and other alleged unlawful attacks using explosive weaponry in cities, towns and other populated areas".

Civilians huddled on Sunday in the basement of Stepanakert's stone-walled Holy Mother of God cathedral, AFP journalists saw, seeking refuge as explosions and air raid warnings sounded.

Some residents were fleeing the city for Armenian territory, with many gathering in the border town of Goris hoping to find passage on to the capital Yerevan.

Azerbaijan said Sunday that two civilians had been killed in shelling on the southern town of Beylagan, where a journalist working with AFP saw residents picking through the rubble of destroyed homes.

In a fiery address to the nation on Sunday, Aliyev set conditions for a halt to the fighting that would be near impossible for Armenia to accept.

He said Armenian forces "must leave our territories, not in words but in deeds," provide a timetable for a full withdrawal, apologise to the Azerbaijani people and recognise the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

'CHASE THEM LIKE DOGS'

"Nagorno-Karabakh is our land. We have to go back there and we are doing it now," Aliyev said.

"This is the end. We showed them who we are. We are chasing them like dogs."

Armenian foreign ministry spokeswoman Anna Nagdalyan said Baku was failing to "engage constructively" on the conflict, while Karabakh's presidency threatened to "expand subsequent (military) actions to the entire territory of Azerbaijan".

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned on Friday that Armenians were facing a "decisive moment" in their history and called on his people to stand together.

Russia, the United States and France — co-chairs of a mediation group that has failed to find a political resolution to the conflict — have called for an immediate halt to the fighting.

Karabakh's declaration of independence from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives.

Talks to resolve the conflict have made little progress since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.

Turkey is a strong ally of Azerbaijan, a fellow Muslim and Turkic country, and Armenia has accused Ankara of dispatching mercenaries from Syria and Libya to join the fighting.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/fears-grow-for-civilians-as-karabakh-fighting-rages-1.5132924