Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan blamed the Azerbaijani side during a meeting with Andrzej Kasprzyk, head of a small OSCE mission monitoring the ceasefire regime in Karabakh. Mirzoyan said Baku attempts to "destabilise the situation".
The Karabakh foreign ministry condemned the "new wave of Azerbaijan's aggressive actions against Artsakh [the Armenian name for Karabakh]".
Karabakh's leadership conveyed that Azerbaijan has demanded the closure of the Lachin corridor, which is the only overland link between Armenia and Karabakh, saying that "traffic must be organised along a new route shortly".
Armenia's Security Council secretary, Armen Grigoryan, dismissed the issue "It's not legitimate." He argued that under the agreement, Azerbaijan and Armenia must work out the new road by 2024.
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry reported that an 18-year-old soldier was killed in the morning when its positions in the Lachin district west of Karabakh came under "intensive" fire. At the same time, Karabakh denied any clashes in Lachin and claimed that the road was open and safe.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry afterwards blamed Armenia for the fighting, saying that Yerevan has not withdrawn its troops from Karabakh and is in breach of the ceasefire agreement reached after the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war. However, since September, Armenia has pledged to withdraw forces and not send fresh recruits.
MOSCOW, Aug 4 (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Thursday called for restraint from both sides after Azerbaijan said its forces had crushed an Armenian attack near the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. read more
The dispute over the region, a mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan controlled since the 1990s by ethnic Armenians, flared in 2020 into a six-week war in which Azeri troops regained swathes of territory.
Both sides accused each other of violating the terms of a Russia-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday, which prompted international calls for an end to the 30 years of fighting.
"We are watching very closely, we are naturally concerned about the situation worsening," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "We ask the parties for restraint and most importantly to implement all provisions of the trilateral documents."
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to work on a peace plan after a ceasefire but the two sides periodically accuse each other of firing shells.
Peskov said there were currently no plans for President Vladimir Putin to speak to his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev, but that any contact could be quickly arranged.
Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge
The United States is deeply concerned by and closely following reports of intensive fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, including casualties and the loss of life. We urge immediate steps to reduce tensions and avoid further escalation.
The recent increase in tensions underscores the need for a negotiated, comprehensive, and sustainable settlement of all remaining issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces releases footage on Wednesday showing what it said were successful strikes against Armenian forces using the Turkish-made Bakar Bayraktar TB2 armed drones.
According to a press release from the Ministry Of Defense Of Azerbaijan, illegal Armenian armed formations in the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily deployed, grossly violated the provisions of the Statement of November 10, 2020, and committed a terrorist and sabotage act against the Azerbaijan Army Units on August 3.
“Members of illegal Armenian armed detachments attempted to seize the Girkhgiz high ground, located on a mountain range covering the territory of the Kalbajar and Lachin regions, and establish new combat positions there,” the news release says.
The Azerbaijani military carried out a “Revenge” retaliatory operation in response, killing and wounding an unspecified number of “illegal Armenian militants.”
The official press release also states that as a result of the “Revenge” retaliatory operation conducted by the Azerbaijan Army Units, the Girkhgiz high ground, including Saribaba and several advantageous high grounds along the Karabakh range of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains were taken under control. Currently, Azerbaijan Army Units are carrying out engineering work on the establishment of new positions and laying supply roads on advantageous frontiers.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Their most recent clashes were in September 2020, during which Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades.
The events in Nagorno-Karabakh raised a number of questions from the Armenian public about the Russian military contingent in the region.
According to News.am, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the presence of Russian peacekeepers a key factor in ensuring the security of Karabakh Armenians.
“But a number of events that have taken place in Nagorno-Karabakh since November 2020, including the events of recent days, have raised questions from the Armenian public about the content and nature of the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh” , Pashinyan said.
He stressed that it is becoming extremely necessary to adjust the details of the “peacekeeping operation”; in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"And the need was there from the very beginning. But Azerbaijan prevented this by refusing to sign the mandate of the peacekeeping contingent, while Armenia did. We expect that this mandate, signed in a bilateral format, will operate in full,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
He said that for the full implementation of the “peacekeeping mandate” the signatures of Yerevan and Moscow are enough. And he proposed to take measures for the international approval of this mandate or to give “peacekeepers” “a broad international mandate.”
Recall that on Wednesday evening the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan confirmed an offensive operation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as a result of which the troops were able to take several heights.
According to " Ministry of Defense” of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Azerbaijani units “used attack drones, as a result of which one soldier was mortally wounded.” Later, eight more were reported injured there.
Prepared by: Nina Petrovich
Aug. 4 (UPI) — The European Union is calling for an immediate end to deadly military clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces around the Lachin corridor and elsewhere along the Line of Contact along their disputed border.
In a statement, the EU said, "It is essential to de-escalate, fully respect the ceasefire and return to the negotiating table to seek negotiated solutions."
European Council President Charles Michel is "closely engaged" with leaders of both countries, according to the EU. He has spoken with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and will speak soon with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Azerbaijan alleges that an Azerbaijani soldier was killed Wednesday in a clash as construction of a new road was underway in the Lachin corridor.
"Accusations shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia against Azerbaijan in violation of the trilateral statement are nothing but mere hypocrisy," the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The bloody incident and killing of an Azerbaijani soldier on Aug. 3 is precisely the result of Armenia's failure to fulfill its obligations."
Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted Thursday that the "Azerbaijani side officially and openly assumed responsibility for aggression."
The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Azerbaijan of violating the Trilateral Statement of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on the cessation of hostilities "in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, resulting in casualties."
"Despite the steps undertaken by the Armenian side for achieving stability and peace in the region, Azerbaijan continues its pre-planned policy of terrorizing the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, subjecting them to ethnic cleansing and creeping occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh," the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its statement, "We emphasize that the reason for the recent tension is the presence of illegal Armenian armed troops in the territories of Azerbaijan and provocations instigated by them."
Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed in November to a Russia-brokered cease-fire along their disputed border.
The EU statement calling for Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the armed clashes said, "The European Union remains committed to help overcome tensions and continue its engagement toward sustainable peace and stability in the South Caucasus."
Deadly clashes have erupted in the Nagorno-Karabakh region over one year after the signing of a fragile Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Azerbaijan said on Wednesday that its forces suppressed an Armenian attack near the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry accused Armenian forces of killing a soldier in an act of sabotage and attempting to seize territory controlled by Russian peacekeepers, according to Reuters. "We emphasize that the reason for the recent tension is the presence of illegal Armenian armed troops in the territories of Azerbaijan," Baku claimed.
Armenia has rejected Baku’s framing of the clashes, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claiming there are no Armenian servicemen in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. "Today, Azerbaijan is talking about the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army and the reasons why it is deployed along the line of disengagement. If Russia’s peacekeeping contingent and Azerbaijan provide guarantees of this line’s inviolability, the defense army, I believe, will not have to remain on combat duty. Also, I officially declare that there are no military servicemen from Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.
Pashinyan appeared to blame the recent spike in military tensions on a lack of action by Russian peacekeepers stationed in the broader Nagorno-Karabakh region. "Questions arise in Armenian society over the Russian peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh," he said during a government meeting, adding that the role of the Russian mission must be “clarified.” Armenia has accused the Azerbaijani side of violating the terms of a ceasefire agreement by attacking territories controlled by the peacekeepers. Yerevan officials have called on the international community to “stop the aggressive actions and attitude of Azerbaijan and to activate the necessary mechanisms to do so.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry has accused Azerbaijan of violating the ceasefire, adding that it is "taking measures to stabilize the situation" in consultation with Yerevan and Baku. "There are trilateral agreements, which serve as the starting point," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday. "The most important is to implement all obligations, which the parties assumed under these documents."
The European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Biden administration have called for an immediate end to hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. “The United States is deeply concerned by and closely following reports of intensive fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, including casualties and the loss of life,” said U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price. “We urge immediate steps to reduce tensions and avoid further escalation,” he added.
Azerbaijan’s armed forces launched an offensive to retake the ethnically Armenian breakaway enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, in the Summer of 2020. The six-week Nagorno-Karabakh war ended with a Kremlin-brokered ceasefire agreement involving the restoration of several surrounding territories under Azerbaijani control and the deployment of some 2,000 Russian peacekeeping forces to the region.
Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.
Lebanon, Turkey, and Armenia are among the angriest countries in the world, according to the latest data collected by US company Gallup from end of 2021 though mid 2022.
With people having to deal with the endemic corruption and an economic meltdown brought on by the ruling elite, the devastating Beirut Port blast in 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Lebanon has been rated the angriest country in the world.
After analyzing emotions (including anger) in over 100 countries, Gallup’s Global Emotions Report found that 49 percent of people who were surveyed in Lebanon experienced anger regularly, including on the day before they took part in the survey.
Turkey was ranked second (48 percent), where high levels of anger were also measured due to high inflation which also worsened after the war in Ukraine, which began earlier this year on February 24.
Armenia came in third place with an anger rate of 46 percent due to its political tensions with neighboring Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno Karabakh territory.
Iraq (46 percent) and Afghanistan (41 percent) came in fourth and fifth in the anger index due to socio-economic issues brought on by years of war.
Jordan was ranked the sixth angriest country, with a registered anger rate of 35 percent.
The only two countries outside the Middle East and Far East to make it on the list, Mali and Sierra Leone both had anger rates of 35 percent, coming in seventh and eighth angriest.
On a separate list measuring the level of sadness, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Turkey ranked in the top three saddest countries, followed by Guinea and India respectively.
Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Turkey also experienced the most stress, followed by Ecuador and Jordan.
Conversely, the countries that experienced the most enjoyment regularly were Iceland, Paraguay, Denmark, Ireland, and Cambodia respectively, while the bottom five in this category were Lebanon, Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt and Sierra Leone.