2020 – Page 353 – Armenian Directory & News

NATO urges NK conflicting sides to cease hostilities in Line of Contact

September 28, 2020March 12, 2026 Arbi Tashjian

19:48,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. James Appathurai, the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, has made a statement over the ongoing situation in the Artsakh-Azerbaijani line of contact.

“NATO is deeply concerned by reports of large scale military hostilities along the line of contact in the Nagorno Karabach conflict zone. The sides should immediately cease hostilities, which have already caused civilian casualties. There is no military solution to this conflict. The parties should resume negotiations towards a peaceful resolution. NATO supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group”, the statement says.

On September 27 early morning the Azerbaijani military has launched a massive cross-border artillery attack on Artsakh, including on civilian settlements. Peaceful settlements are also under bombardment, including the capital city of Stepanakert.

The Azerbaijani side suffered losses in its military equipment.

Dozens of civilians in Artsakh were wounded as a result of the Azerbaijani attack. A woman and a child were killed in the Azerbaijani attack.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Iran urges to stop military operations in NK and start negotiations

September 28, 2020March 12, 2026 Mary Lazarian

20:04,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Iran urges to immediately stop military operations in Nagorno Karabakh and start the negotiation process, ARMENPRESS reports Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh announced.

‘’Tehran urges the sides to demonstrate restraint, immediately stop military operations and start negotiations’’, he said.

The diplomat noted that Iran is concerned over the armed clashes and attentively follows the developments.

He added that the Foreign Ministry of Iran is ready to use all opportunities for establishing ceasefire and start a dialogue between the sides.

Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in his Twitter page that the region needs peace.

‘’Neighbors are priority for us and we are ready to broker for starting a negotiation process’’, he added.

Editing and Translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Enemy has suffered much more losses – PM Pashinyan

September 28, 2020March 12, 2026 Ara Felekian

20:15,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in his speech at the National Assembly that all necessary commands and tasks have been given.

‘’I want something to be very clear. All necessary commands and tasks are given. No one should have any doubts over this. On the other hand we should understand that we deal with an attack that has been very deeply prepared, It’s not an attack of one action, and its counter measuring will not be of one action. We have suffered casualties, the adversary has suffered more casualties, we have losses of military equipment, the adversary has suffered much more losses. This is a developing process and we have to stand strong’’, Pashinyan said, emphasizing that we have no right to be afraid.

The Prime Minister emphasized that during this period the parliament of Armenia is unified.

‘’It’s impossible to win us’’, Pashinyan emphasized.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Consolidation is unconditional guarantee of our victories – President Sarkissian

September 28, 2020March 12, 2026 Arpi Talalian

20:09,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian addressed the Armenian people on September 27 on the occasion of the aggression launched by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, noting that consolidation is the unconditional guarantee of the victories of the Armenian people.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Office of the President, Sarkissian said, ‘’Dear compatriots in Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora,

This is another military aggression by Azerbaijan, which is a war against the entire Armenian people. This war is directed against the right of the people of Artsakh to living freely, against having a dignified, peaceful life and future.

I feel deep sorrow for the victims of the large-scale military aggression by Azerbaijan, including a child and a woman’, Armen Sarkissian said, emphasizing that the Defense Army of Artsakh again proved that it’s ready to swiftly reacting to any military operation.

President Sarkissian said that they are expecting adequate reaction from the international community, particularly the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries, international organizations and individuals.

‘’By these steps Azerbaijan overtly shows to the international mediators and international community that it does not wish to settle Artsakh issue through negotiations and foster regional peace and stability, it continues to violate universal values, targets civilians, hospitals and communications.

We hope that the international community will initiate urgent measures to stop the war unleashed by Azerbaijan’’, the President said.

‘’Dear compatriots,

The victory achieved in the Artsakh war (1994 – edit.) is a result of our unity and consolidation, today the preservation of that victory is the sacramental duty of each of us.

The fate of our Motherland depends on us, our unity, solidarity and discipline.

We need to unite.

Consolidation is the unconditional guarantee of our victories. At this moment we have to put aside all the political disagreements and personal confrontations and become a strong back for our Armed Forces.

We have to act together, even if we have different thinking, worldview and ideas.

The capacities and potential of each of us in Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora should be used for the sake of the Motherland.

God bless our army.

God bless us all. ”

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Reuters: Turkey calls on Armenia to end hostility towards Azerbaijan after clashes

September 27, 2020March 12, 2026 Jirair Kafian

Reuters

Sept 27 2020

By Reuters Staff

Armenia shoots down 2 Azerbaijani helicopters, 3 drones

September 27, 2020March 12, 2026 Chakhmakhchian Vatche

CGTN, China

Sept 27 2020

CGTN

Armenia on Sunday has shot down two helicopters and three drones of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on social media.

The move is a response to Azerbaijan’s attack on civilian settlements in the disputed territory, according to Armenian Defense Ministry.

Also on Sunday, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said it is currently launching a counter-offensive in the region.

Heavy fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region has caused civilian casualties on both sides, the Azerbaijani presidency said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988.

Armenian forces hit 2 Azerbaijan choppers as fierce fighting erupts over disputed land

September 27, 2020March 12, 2026 Kajoyan Gevork

The Print, India

Sept 27 2020

Zulfugar Agayev 3:19 pm IST

Bloomberg: Fierce fighting involving tanks, aircraft and artillery broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenians Sunday in a conflict over land that’s been disputed for decades.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said it launched a “counterattack” after accusing Armenians of firing on its military positions and on civilian settlements near the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory. Armenia said Azerbaijan started bombarding along the contact line separating the two forces and shelled civilians including in the region’s capital, Stepanakert.

The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has flared repeatedly since Armenians took control of the territory and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Hundreds were killed in a five-day war in 2016 before Russia pressured both sides to resume a cease-fire that was first brokered in 1994. Despite decades of mediation by the U.S., France and Russia, no peace agreement has been signed.

The Azeri army is using tanks, artillery, missile systems and aircraft against Armenian positions near the front line and deeper into Armenian-held territory, the Defense Ministry in Baku said in a website statement. As many as 12 Armenian anti-aircraft systems have been destroyed and one Azeri helicopter was shot down, it said.

Armenian forces hit two Azeri helicopters, three tanks and three drones, Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said.

Civilians in Nagorno-Karabah have been urged to go into shelters after Azerbaijan shelled Stepanakert, according to Vahram Poghosyan, presidential spokesman in the unrecognized republic. “Our response will be proportional, and the whole responsibility is on the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan,” he said.

The fighting comes after tensions between the two sides rose sharply last week, when Azeri President Ilham Aliyev alleged that Armenia was massing forces near Nagorno-Karabakh for a new war. Armenia dismissed the claim as groundless and accused Aliyev of preparing for a war. – Bloomberg

Nagorno-Karabakh: Secretary General calls for immediate end to hostilities

September 27, 2020March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Council of Europe

Sept 27 2020

NYT: Fighting Flares Between Azerbaijan and Armenia

September 27, 2020March 12, 2026 Baghdasarian Karlen

New York Times

Sept 27 2020

The governments of both countries reported action with tanks, military helicopters and artillery in a rapid escalation of a long-simmering conflict.

By Andrew E. Kramer

Sept. 27, 2020, 6:00 a.m. ET

MOSCOW — Fighting that was reported to be fierce broke out on Sunday between Azerbaijan and Armenia and quickly escalated with the two sides claiming action with artillery, helicopter and tanks along a disputed border.

The military action centered on the breakaway province of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous area north of Turkey and Iran where ethnic tensions and historical grievances have made kindling for conflict for decades.

The fighting on Sunday, however, was reportedly more severe than the typical periodic border skirmishes, and both governments used military language describing the events as war. Before Sunday, the last major escalation was in 2016. Each sides accused the other of using artillery against civilians.

“The enemy has started an attack” on the Karabakh region, the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, said in a post on Facebook.

Mr. Pashinyan said the military of the Karabkah region, an ethnic Armenian enclave that claims to be an independent state but is mostly unrecognized, had repelled the attack.

But the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan then issued a statement saying it had begun a “counterattack” with tanks, helicopters and rocket artillery.

In a statement carried by Russian news agencies, Azerbaijan said the military operation had destroyed “troops, military objects and equipment of the Armenian armed forces” near the border as well as deeper inside the country. It said it destroyed 12 short-range antiaircraft installations in Armenia.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said its forces had destroyed three tanks and shot down two helicopters, Reuters reported.

In past flare-ups, both sides have exaggerated their successes and the scale of their enemies’ violations of cease-fire agreements, though the potential for a wider war has always been clear. The Karabakh region maintains a system to call up nearly its entire male population as minutemen, and this mobilization was announced Sunday morning.

Fighting in and around the Karabakh region, which Armenia calls Artsakh, was among the most vicious of the early post-Soviet conflicts. A cease-fire was declared in 1994, but violence has often flared up since.

Moscow sells weapons to both sides and has also brokered cease-fire agreements. Russia has a military base in Armenia. The Armenian diaspora in France and the United States has aided the Karabakh region, including financing construction of a strategic mountain-access road.

CivilNet: Armenia to announce general mobilization

September 27, 2020March 12, 2026 Albert Nalbandian

CIVILNET.AM

12:50

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced that Martial law and General mobilization will be declared in the Republic. The decision will take effect from the moment of publication.

“Dear compatriots, Currently, the government has declared Martial law and General mobilization in the Republic of Armenia. I call on the personnel attached to the troops to report to their territorial military recruitment offices. For the sake of the homeland, for the sake of victory,” he wrote on his Facebook page.