Category: 2020

VoA: Fighting Over Nagorno-Karabakh Continues, Despite Calls for Cease-Fire

Albert Nalbandian
Voice of America
Oct 3 2020
By VOA News
07:56 AM    
In this photo taken from video released by the Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry Oct. 2, 2020, Azerbaijan’s forces attack an Armenian army camp during fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces continued fighting Saturday for the seventh day over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, ignoring international calls for a cease-fire.   
 
Armenia says the territory’s capital, Stepanakert, was the target of bombing by Azeri forces.  
 
Authorities in the breakaway territory have warned that the “last battle” for the region has begun. They called on the international community Saturday to “recognize the independence” of Nagorno-Karabakh as “the only effective mechanism to restore peace.”
 
In a statement issued late Friday, the second this week, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Igor Popov of Russia, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States, expressed their “alarm at reports of increasing civilian casualties” and strongly condemned the continued violence.  
 
“Targeting or threatening civilians is never acceptable under any circumstances,” the statement said, adding that “the co-chairs call on the sides to observe fully their international obligations to protect civilian populations.”
 
Armenia responded positively Friday to a call by the Minsk Group for a cease-fire between its forces and Azerbaijani forces, engaged in a conflict that is threatening to escalate into all-out war.

Armenia is “ready to engage” with the OSCE Minsk Group “to reestablish a cease-fire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.
 
Azerbaijan’s president has demanded the withdrawal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh as the only way to end the fighting.
 
Both sides previously had dismissed demands for a truce in the disputed region, where fighting has escalated in recent days to levels not seen since the 1990s.  

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the fighting that erupted September 26.


Footage of ‘Azerbaijani Forces’ Blasted in Nagorno-Karabakh Released by Armenia’s Military

Arsine Chaltikian
Sputnik
Oct 3 2020
© Sputnik . Screenshot
World

11:45 GMT 03.10.2020(updated 12:29 GMT 03.10.2020) Get short URL
by Andrei Dergalin

The latest clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh region broke out on 27 September, with both Armenia and Azerbaijan accusing each other of behaving provocatively.

As the armed conflict that erupted in Nagorno-Karabakh region last week continues unabated, Armenia’s Ministry of Defense has released yet another video depicting the ongoing hostilities there.

The video in question appears to show Azerbaijani forces being hit, though it’s not immediately clear exactly what kind of weaponry is being used against them.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been vying for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region since the USSR dissolved in 1989 – the last time fighting broke out in the region was only in July with both sides reporting casualties.

The latest clashes started on 27 September, with both Armenia and Azerbaijan accusing each other of behaving provocatively.

JP: Missiles, rockets and drones define Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict

Karakhanian Suren
Jerusalem post
Oct 3 2020
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN  

OCTOBER 3, 2020 14:52


As conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia entered its seventh day on Saturday, there were concerns about escalation in the air and the use of longer range missiles. This comes as reports increase about Azerbaijan’s use of Israeli drones and missiles and Turkish drones. The missile and drone war is important because Azerbaijan’s initial advances on the ground appeared to have stalled after several days and now both sides have brought up artillery and various rocket systems.  
Much of what has taken place in seven days of fighting in the Caucuses is not known because of the fog of war. However, hundreds of videos have appeared that confirm parts of the fighting. These include videos of casualties, destroyed tanks, drone and rocket attacks, and artillery shelling.  
According to reports, this is what is known. Gleb Bazov, a social media user who has followed the conflict closely, pointed out that the conflict so far has shown that a “Turkey inspired strategy of ground assault with attack UAV and reconnaissance drone support has shown itself, as expected, to be a dismal failure. UAVs are still in their development infancy.” He notes that Azerbaijan has turned to using the multiple launch rocket system known as MLRS Smerch. It had been using the TOS-1 and Uragan, Soviet-era designs of mobile rocket launchers. The two systems borrow from the Russian use of rockets, such as the katyushas, dating back to World War II. Think of these vehicles like a large truck or tank with a giant cigarete box on top where instead of cigarettes, the box is packed with missiles.  
Whereas the TOS-1 has a range of several kilometers, the Smerch has a range up to 90km. The Russians like these systems and export them. For instance, a video from September 25 shows Russian troops training with the 9K720 Iskandar-M short range ballistic missile, the BM-30 MLRS Smerch and S-300 air defense during Kavkaz drills that were held near Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad). Video appear to have also shown Azerbaijan using the Israeli LORA missile that was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries. The LORA was most recently tested in Israel in June when two long-range missiles were fired 90km and 400km with the test illustrating their precision. Azerbaijan showed off the LORA missile in 2018. Baku also showed off its Polonez long range missile that was developed in Belarus and has a range of 200km. The country also has the Turkish Kasirga rocket system with a range of some 120km.
Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of using all these systems in recent fighting, according to Shushan Stepanyan, the spokesperson of Armenia’s Ministry of Defense. Azerbaijan has also accused Armenia of using Tochka-U tactical missiles. Azerbaijan also said Armenia had used  Smerch rockets as well. Armenia denied the accusations. Both sides say civilians have been killed in the shelling.

Overall, Armenia claimed to have downed 107 Azerbaijan drones, 10 helicopters and 5 planes. It also said it had destroyed 205 armored vehicles and 1 Smerch launcher. Azerbaijan claimed that by October 3 it had destroyed 250 armored vehicles and an addition 130 military vehicles, as well as 250 Armenian artillery systems, 38 smaller air defense systems, and one S-300 air defense system. This toll illustrates that Azerbaijan has been using many more drones than Armenia. A music video of Azerbaijan’s army showed four trucks with a total of 36 capsules for launching drones. Social media sources said the drones with Israeli Harop drones. Israeli companies have reportedly sold Azerbaijan many drones over the years, including the IAI Harpy and Harop loitering munition, the Elbit Skystriker, and Aeronautics Orbiter series. Azerbaijan has a modern arsenal using these munitions as well as Turkish Bayraktar drones.
The war in Nagorna-Karabakh, which Azerbaijan says it wants to liberate from Armenian control of a self-declared Armenian Artsakh republic, appears to be grinding down into a conflict of attrition. Many of the weapons and tactics have origins in the Soviet era. Rocket launchers and UAVs, as well as modern loitering munitions, have been shown to not win the war decisively.
Loitering munitions are drones that have a warhead and act more like a cruise missile, except they can “loiter” over a target and wait for an opportunity. It is unclear if one side can get its arsenal in order to make a push forward in coming days. Supplies appear to continue to pour into both sides and major powers, such as Turkey and Russia have an interest in not having one side lose. This is also important because the weapon systems being used are being watched all over the world to see which are successful and how they perform. 
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/missiles-rockets-and-drones-define-azerbaijan-armenia-conflict-644365

Armenia says facing ‘decisive moment’ as Karabakh fighting intensifies

Boris Nahapetian
CTV Canada
Oct 3 2020

AFP Staff

Contact

Published Saturday, October 3, 2020 8:38AM EDT Last Updated Saturday, October 3, 2020 4:06PM EDT

STEPANAKERT, AZERBAIJAN — Armenian and Azerbaijani forces were engaged in fierce clashes Saturday as fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region intensified, with Armenia reporting heavy losses and its leader saying it was facing a historic threat.

Armenia’s defence ministry said separatist forces had repelled a massive attack by Azerbaijan, seven days after fighting erupted again in the decades-old dispute over the ethnic-Armenian breakaway province.

Armenian-backed separatist fighters in Karabakh destroyed a “huge military grouping,” of Azerbaijan’s forces, defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said, claiming to have inflicted “serious losses in manpower and military hardware”.

But Armenia also announced the deaths of 51 more separatist fighters, increasing the number of fatalities on both sides above 240 after nearly a week of fighting.

Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said its forces had “captured new footholds” and President Ilham Aliyev claimed that his forces took the village of Madagiz, a strategic hamlet within firing range of an important northern road.

In an address to the nation on Saturday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on Armenians to unite.

“We are facing possibly the most decisive moment in our millennia-old history,” Pashinyan said.

“We all must dedicate ourselves to a singular goal: victory.”

The clashes took place after the regional capital Stepanakert came under artillery and rocket fire Saturday, with local defence officials reporting further explosions later in the day.

‘FINAL BATTLE’

Residents hid in shelters and on Saturday were clearing wreckage and sweeping up the shattered glass windows of their homes and shops.

“This is a great sorrow for our community, for our people,” Nelson Adamyan, a 65-year-old electrician, told AFP outside his damaged residential building.

“But we will stand for our freedom, we will always be free.”

Both sides have been accused of hitting civilian areas, and Azerbaijan said Saturday that Armenian artillery had shelled 19 of its settlements overnight.

The new fighting erupted on September 27 and mounting international calls for a halt to the hostilities and a return to negotiations have gone unanswered.

The leader of Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, said he was going to join “intensive fighting” on the frontline.

“The time has come for the entire nation to become a powerful army,” he told reporters. “This is our final battle, which we will certainly win.”

Both sides have repeatedly claimed to be inflicting heavy losses.

The Armenian side has reported 209 military deaths and 14 civilian fatalities. Azerbaijan has reported 19 civilian deaths but has not confirmed any fatalities among its troops.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights registered the deaths of least 36 militants from Syria fighting alongside Azerbaijan’s forces in over the last 48 hours, bringing their reported deaths to 64.

The war monitor said 1,200 combatants from pro-Ankara Syrian factions had been dispatched to the conflict.

On a road between Armenia’s capital Yerevan and Nagorno-Karabakh, AFP journalists saw ambulances going in both directions and buses carrying families fleeing the fighting.

There was a heavy police presence near the border and volunteers were also travelling to bring Stepanakert residents to safety after shelling. 

“We must come to their aid,” volunteer Ani said, adding that she had dropped everything to help.

CALLS FOR RECOGNITION

“We help our country as we can.”

Russia, the United States and France — whose leaders co-chair a mediation group that has failed to bring about a political resolution to the conflict — this week called on the warring sides to immediately agree to a ceasefire.

Armenia said Friday it was “ready to engage” with mediators but Azerbaijan — which considers Karabakh under Armenian occupation — has said Armenian forces must fully withdraw before a ceasefire can be brokered.

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.

The breakaway province is not recognised as independent by any country — including Armenia — and Karabakh’s foreign ministry said Saturday that only receiving official status from world leaders could resolve the military flare-up. 

International recognition, the ministry said, “is the only way towards peace and security in the region.”

The fighting has threatened to balloon into a regional conflict drawing in powerful players like Russia and Turkey.

Armenia is in a military alliance of former Soviet countries led by Moscow, which maintains a military base there, while NATO member Turkey has signalled its full support for Azerbaijan’s military operations.

Yerevan has accused Turkey of dispatching mercenaries from Syria and Libya to the conflict — an allegation confirmed and denounced by Russia and France.

Aliyev on Saturday informed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of civilian casualties and thanked Turkey for its support.

A residential area that were allegedly damaged by shelling is seen during a military conflict in self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. (David Ghahramanyan/NKR InfoCenter PAN Photo via AP)

Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkey’s Support For Azerbaijan Challenges Russian Leverage

Markos Nalchajian
KPBS
Oct 3 2020

Friday, October 2, 2020

Lucian Kim / NPR

As world powers call for peace and the warring parties pledge to fulfill “historic” missions, ordinary people are suffering the most as fighting flared this week in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region on Russia’s southern border. The territory, located in Azerbaijan, is claimed by both Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

“As the recent escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict worsens, civilians are bearing the brunt of the surge in violence,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement Friday. “Civilian deaths and injuries, including of children, have been reported on both sides of the line of contact, and in Armenia,” the ICRC said. It cited reports of hundreds of homes, schools and hospitals destroyed by heavy artillery.

Fighting broke out on Sunday in a conflict that dates back to the dying days of the Soviet Union three decades ago. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan were Soviet republics, but as the Soviet Union broke apart in the early 1990s, the ethnic Armenian majority of Nagorno-Karabakh demanded unification with Armenia. After Azerbaijan declared independence from Moscow, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh seceded, setting off a bloody war.

When a shaky cease-fire took hold in 1994, Armenians were in control of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjoining Azerbaijani territory. Russia, France and the United States took the lead in trying to broker a lasting peace, to no avail. Armenia and Azerbaijan blame each other for the renewed violence.

On Thursday, the presidents of Russia, the U.S. and France issued a joint statement condemning the escalation in fighting and calling for an immediate cease-fire and resumption of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan without preconditions.

The appeal came a day after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during a visit to wounded service members that calls for dialogue were “irrelevant” under the current circumstances and that his country was acting in “self-defense” and restoring its territorial integrity.

“We have one condition: they must leave our lands unconditionally, completely and immediately,” Aliyev said, referring to what he called Armenia’s “policy of occupation.”

“This condition is still standing,” he said, “and if the Armenian government fulfills it, the fighting will cease, bloodshed will stop, and there will be peace.”

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said Friday it “welcomed” the condemnation of violence by the presidents of Russia, France and the United States. The ministry said Armenia is “committed” to a peaceful resolution and accused Turkey of direct involvement in the most recent hostilities.

Turkey is not hiding its support for Azerbaijan. The two countries have close ethnic and linguistic kinship, while Turkey’s relations with Armenia are burdened by the Ottoman Empire’s 1915 mass killing of 1.5 million Armenians, which most historians and a growing number of countries, including the U.S., consider genocide. Turkey rejects the term.

In a speech to the Turkish Parliament Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed Armenia for the renewed fighting and said, “Our Azerbaijani brothers are now waiting for the day they will return to their land.”

Erdogan said the call for peace by France, Russia and the United States was unacceptable because the three countries had “neglected” the Nagorno-Karabakh issue for almost 30 years.

The last significant U.S. peace initiative on Nagorno-Karabakh was in fact in 2001, when the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Key West, Florida, for talks that ended in failure.

“Given that public expectations in both societies run extremely high, it will be harder for the leaders to stop soon and claim success,” writes Thomas de Waal, an expert on the Caucasus region with Carnegie Europe. “The risk of escalation and of mass destruction is alarmingly high.”

According to de Waal, two new factors make the current situation more dangerous than before: Turkey’s open backing for one party and the United States’ “unusual disengagement.”

Turkey’s assertive role in the Mediterranean and Middle East has already caused friction not only with its European NATO allies but with Russia as well. Nagorno-Karabakh is only adding to the irritation.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that he had information Syrian jihadist fighters had transited through Turkey to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey has denied that claim.

Without mentioning Turkey by name, the Kremlin has only said it is “extremely dangerous” that fighters from Syria and Libya — two countries where the Turkish military is active — are being transferred to Nagorno-Karabakh. In a phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the involvement of “militants of illegal armed units from the Middle East,” according to the Kremlin readout.

The Kremlin is at pains not to take sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, since it has close relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Turkey’s involvement further complicates Russia’s position, as Putin has wooed Erdogan with pipelines and advanced weaponry, despite their serious differences in places like Syria.

“The Turkish factor in this war is obvious and looks extremely threatening. I do not envy our leaders in the Kremlin,” political analyst Arkady Dubnov writes on the Russian news site VTimes.

Dubnov says Russia had plenty of warnings leading up to this week’s eruption of fighting, which he reads as a sign the Kremlin no longer has the leverage in the region to stop it.

Turkey threw down the gauntlet in Nagorno-Karabakh, Dubnov says, and Russia failed to take it up.

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Armenian PM says OSCE Minsk Group may discuss Russian peacekeepers’ deployment to Karabakh

Dabaghian Diana
TASS, Russia
Oct 3 2020
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh

YEREVAN, October 3. /TASS/. The issue of Russian peacekeepers’ deployment to Nagorno-Karabakh could be raised at the OSCE Minsk Group, the Armenian government’s press office said on Saturday citing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s interview with Al Jazeera

“You see those issues could be discussed in the context of the wider resolution within the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship,” Pashinyan said when asked if he would like to see Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs – Russia, France and the United States.


Armenian, Azerbaijani forces engage in six-hour non-stop clash on Saturday

Chakrian Hovsep
TASS, Russia
Oct 3 2020
The army of the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh has brought down a helicopter of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces

YEREVAN, October 3. /TASS/. On Saturday, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces engaged in a non-stop battle that lasted six or seven hours, Armenian Defense Ministry’s official spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan told reporters.

“Armenian servicemen engaged in a non-stop battle against the armed forces of Azerbaijan, which lasted for six or seven hours,” Hovhannisyan said.

According to the spokesman, Azerbaijani forces sustained serious losses in the course of the clash. In the past day, Armenian troops struck 49 Azerbaijani armored vehicles, ten drones, three planes and one helicopter. Besides, three of its Smerch multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) were disabled.

The army of the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh has brought down a helicopter of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces, Armenian Defense Ministry Press Secretary Shushan Stepanyan said.

“About 15.50 [local time] the air defenses of Artsakh’s army of defense (the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh – TASS) shot down one helicopter of the adversary in the southern direction,” she wrote on Facebook.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs – Russia, France and the United States.



Erdogan reiterates Ankara’s “full support” for Baku with all means and heart

Hunanian Jack
Global Village
Oct 3 2020

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will stand with Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, calling on it to continue the assault and drive the Armenian forces out.

Erdogan reiterated Ankara’s “full support” for Baku during his Friday speech at the inauguration of a city hospital in the central Turkish province of Konya.

“The brotherly state of Azerbaijan has started a great operation both to defend its own territories and to liberate the occupied Karabakh,” he said. “Turkey stands with and will continue to stand with friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan with all our means and all our heart.”

Read more: Fighting between Muslim Azerbaijan and Christian Armenia stokes fear of Turkey-Russia war

Erdogan’s statement comes hours after the violence intensified in Nagorno-Karabakh with the region’s capital, Stepanakert enduring artillery strikes which left scores of people wounded, according to Armenia.

An intense military confrontation between Yerevan and Baku broke out on September 27. The two sides clashed over territory which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is populated by ethnic Armenians seeking independence from Baku with support from Yerevan.

The conflict had been in a frozen state for decades since the early 1990s. While it saw several major flare-ups occurring in 2014, 2016, and in July of this year, the current escalation marked with casualties on both sides is the most serious so far.

Ankara declared its unwavering support for the “brotherly” nation of Azerbaijan at the beginning of the standoff, offering both military and diplomatic assistance. It also dismissed calls for peace by Moscow, Washington, and Paris on Thursday, reiterating that the withdrawal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh is a precondition for a ceasefire.

Read more: Pakistan flags hoisted in Azerbaijan as gratitude for support against Armenian aggression

Armenia has repeatedly accused the Turkish military of aiding the Azeri army and even directly engaging and shooting down Armenian military aircraft – something that Ankara has denied.

RT with additional input by GVS News Desk

https://www.globalvillagespace.com/erdogan-reiterates-ankaras-full-support-for-baku-with-all-means-and-heart/amp/?fbclid=IwAR2DQAF8iuC0ZIsnVILbqzPFskHeC6Qssbchh1mUv7n4g06JhRmAQoOf0-Y


​AP Explains: What lies behind Turkish support for Azerbaijan

Toneyan Mark
Yahoo! News
Oct 3 2020
 
 
 
AP Explains: What lies behind Turkish support for Azerbaijan
 
SUZAN FRASER
October 2, 2020, 4:03 pm
 
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has firmly put its weight behind oil-rich Azerbaijan as a decades-old territorial dispute flared anew into an armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region situated within Azerbaijan controlled by Armenia-backed ethnic separatists.
 
Turkey, a NATO member with regional and global aspirations, has vowed to support longtime ally Azerbaijan “on the battlefield or the negotiating table,” if needed. However, the Turkish government has denied Armenian claims that it is sending Syrian fighters and F-16 combat jets to assist Azerbaijani forces in the conflict that broke out Sunday.
 
Here’s a look at what lies behind Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan, its involvement in the conflict and its implications.
 
WHY IS TURKEY SUPPORTING AZJERBAIJAN?
 
Turkey and Azerbaijan are bound by strong ethnic, cultural and historic ties and refer to their relationship as being one between “two states, one nation.” Turkey was the first country to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the two have forged robust economic ties. Turkey is the main conduit for Azerbaijan’s oil and gas exports, and the ex-Soviet republic has become a major investor in Turkey.
 
On the other hand, Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Armenia and sealed its border with the nation in 1993 to show solidarity with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. Relations between Armenia and Turkey already were tenuous due to the the mass killings and deporations of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago, Scholars consider those events to be the first genocide of the 20th century, which Turkey denies.
 
In 2009, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepped back from reconciliation efforts with Armenia that had angered Azerbaijan. Erdogan made the establishment of formal ties with Armenia conditional on its withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh.
 
HOW IS TURKEY INVOLVED IN THE CONFLICT?
 
Turkey’s military has been training Azerbaijani officers for decades. In August, their armed forces conducted large-scale military exercises in Azerbaijan. Turkey is also Azerbaijan’s third-largest supplier of military equipment after Russia and Israel. It is known to have sold drones and rocket launchers, according to Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara director of the German Marshall Fund. Turkey may have sent military drone operators to help Azerbaijan in the current fighting, he said.
 
Turkey has repeatedly said that it would come to Azerbaijan’s aid, if asked, but there is no evidence so far that Turkey is actively involved in the conflict. Ankara has asserted that Azerbaijan has the capacity to fight without Turkish support.
 
The Turkish government has denied sending Syrian mercenaries to help Azerbaijan in the battle even though the Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that as many as 850 Syrian fighters have arrived in Azerbaijan.
 
Turkey has also dismissed as “propaganda” claims by Armenia that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down an Armenian SU-25 jet.
 
Turkey’s military involvement in the conflict for now is “more rhetoric than substance,” Unluhisarcikli said.
 
WHAT IS RUSSIA’S POSITION?
 
Although Russia and Armenia do not share a border, Armenia is a close Russian ally of Russia in the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian seas, including hosting a large Russian military base. The base, with a garrison of about 3,000 soldiers, is in Gyumri, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of Nagorno-Karabakh and less than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Turkish border.
 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has characterized the base as a key bulwark against a possible Turkish invasion.
 
Armenia and Russia are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military alliance of some former Soviet republics, not including Azerbaijan, raising the possibility that Armenia could call for military help from the alliance. Pashinian this week said he does not see an immediate need for calling on Russian forces to take action.
 
WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR TURKEY?
 
Experts see Turkey’s hardline rhetoric against Armenia as part of Turkey’s aspirations for global and regional leadership and Ankara’s increasing efforts to resolve disputes through “gunboat diplomacy.”
 
The country has flexed its military muscle in Syria in a bid to prevent Kurdish militants from entrenching in a border region, in Libya where it has sided with the Tripoli-based government to safeguard a maritime delimitation agreement, and in the eastern Mediterranean where it sent a search vessel, accompanied by warships, to explore for energy in disputed waters with Greece.
 
“Wherever there is a problem, Turkey’s tendency has been to militarize the problem,” the Marshall Fund’s Unluhisarcikli said.
 
With the conflict threatening to draw Russia in, experts think Azerbaijan will act with caution and limit any Turkish intervention.
 
“The support that Azerbaijan would request (from Turkey) would fall beneath the threshold that would anger Russia,” Unluhisarcikli said.
 
___
 
Associated Press writer James Heintz in Moscow contributed.
 
 
 

Azerbaijan military releases bizarre heavy metal song amid clash with Armenia

Eduard Nalbandian
New York Post
Oct 2 2020

By Natalie O’Neill

They put the guns in Guns and Roses.

The Azerbaijan military has released a bizarre heavy metal music video touting their war weapons and featuring lot of explosions amid a violent dispute with its neighbor Armenia.

The guitar-shredding propaganda tune “Atəş”— or “Fire” — was performed by a group of local heavy metal rockers dressed in combat uniforms, according to footage uploaded to the country’s military Youtube channel.

The brain-rattling song is performed in an open field, with no enemies in sight, next to a fleet of missiles launchers and tanks.

It’s performed by the local musicians Ceyhun Zeynalov and Narmin Karimbayova, backed by the Nur Group, according to newshub.co.nz.

But while the metal rockers look like they are ready for some Megadeth, in real-life, Azerbaijan’s military is not as powerful as the band’s sound and has been locked in a violent conflict over land with neighboring Armenia for years.

Dozens of people were killed and hundreds were wounded after fighting between the two former Soviet republics broke out on Sunday.