Despite some tension, the operational situation was relatively stable during the night and this morning, Artsakh’s Defense Ministry reports.
In some areas, units of the Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire regime, using firearms.
With the mediation of the Russian military personnel, the work towards further stabilization of the situation continues.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions are flaring up again. Azerbaijani troops seized control of Mount Buzlug and surrounding areas of Armenia.
The Azerbaijani army occupied Mount Buzlug and hoisted the Azerbaijani flag on it. This happened after two days of relative calm in the region. As it became known, the Azerbaijani troops managed to move freely in this direction and completely take control of Mount Buzlug, the heights surrounding it, as well as nearby areas. As a demonstrative gesture, Azerbaijan hoisted the state flag on Mount Buzlug. This information has been confirmed by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan.
“As a result of the activities carried out by our units, Mount Buzlug and the heights surrounding it came under the control of the Azerbaijani army ,” the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reports.
In the published video footage, you can see how a group of Azerbaijani military hoists the state flag over the region taken under control. This indicates that the latter is currently really under the control of the Azerbaijani army.
It is known that earlier this area was supposed to be controlled by Russian peacekeeping forces, as well as units of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. However, at the moment there are no official data from the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.
A few days back Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said it carried out “revenge” attacks on Armenian forces on August 3 in response to an attack that killed one soldier and an attempt to seize control of a hill in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. The Azeri ministry accused Armenia of “grossly” violating the terms of a ceasefire agreement signed in November 2020, and said the attacks occurred in an area where a Russian peacekeeping contingent had been deployed.
Azerbaijan’s “retaliatory operation” involved the destruction of “several combat positions of illegal Armenian armed detachments” and an airstrike on a military unit stationed in the village of Yukhary Oratagh, the ministry said. This aerial footage released by the defense ministry shows a military vehicle exploding at a facility just north of the village. Azerbaijan said the strike killed and wounded several members of Armenia’s forces, and destroyed “several D-30 howitzers, military vehicles and a large amount of ammunition.
EarlierRussia kept things calm in the region despite all adversities during the past two years, but the region is now erupting in the fire as soon as EU chimed in and because of Russia is now completely busy in Ukraine.
In 2020, a long-simmering conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh erupted into a six-week war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Around 2,000 soldiers and civilians lost their lives in the clash. Armed drones and other weapons supplied by Turkey helped Azeri forces break past Armenian defences and usurp territories, including almost 40% of Nagorno-Karabakh itself.
https://www.defenceview.in/azerbaijan-took-control-of-armenian-mount-buzlug-and-raised-its-flag-is-a-new-war-about-to-break-out/
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has urged the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to engage in dialogue to resolve the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price announced that Blinken, who is on an Asian tour, spoke by phone with the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
Price said that the US Secretary of State assured Prime Minister Pashinyan that the United States is closely monitoring the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.
Price noted that during his talks with the two leaders, Blinken urged the establishment of direct dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve issues related to or arising from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
After a first war that resulted in 30,000 deaths in the early 1990s, in the fall of 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a lightning war to control the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region, which split from Azerbaijan with the support of Yerevan.
The last war in 2020 killed about 6,500 people and ended with a Russian-brokered truce.
As part of the armistice agreement, Armenia relinquished large swathes of territory it controlled, and Russia deployed a peacekeeping force of about 2,000 soldiers tasked with monitoring compliance with the fragile truce.
Despite the fragile diplomatic truce between Armenia and Azerbaijan, tension remains high between the two former Soviet republics. Both countries regularly report outbreaks of violence and casualties among soldiers. And last Wednesday, Azerbaijan announced its control of several sites and the destruction of targets in Nagorno-Karabakh, in an escalation that led to three deaths and led to fears of renewed conflict. With the mediation of the European Union, the two countries are negotiating a peace treaty.
The United States: We are monitoring the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Artsakh’s State Minister Artak Beglaryan calls out international institutions for again keeping artificial parity between the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides in their recent statements calling for de-escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“I wonder why intl institutions & leaders again keep artificial parity between the Azerbaijani & Armenian sides in their recent calls, if it's Baku launching military provocations recorded by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry & Russian peacekeepers,” he tweeted on Friday.
“Such parity brings false legitimization of use of force,” Beglaryan added.
U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, condemns Azerbaijan's latest aggression against Artsakh and calls for immediate action to hold the Aliyev regime accountable.
Rep. Schiff issued the following statement after Azerbaijan's attack:
"I am deeply disturbed by reports of casualties, including two Armenian soldiers, in Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh – the result of Azerbaijan’s direct violation of its ceasefire agreement with Armenia. This is hardly the first time Azerbaijan has attacked Armenian forces unprovoked, and unless the United States takes immediate action to hold the Aliyev regime accountable, it will not be the last. It is imperative the State Department use all of its diplomatic channels and levers to reduce tensions and show America’s unwavering support for Armenian sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Artsakh.
"In this year’s national defense funding legislation and for years past, I have repeatedly called for the immediate release of all Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians, tens of millions in humanitarian aid and economic assistance for Artsakh, a full prohibition on U.S. security assistance to Azerbaijan, and renewed American engagement through the OSCE Minsk Group to reinvigorate the peace process. Each of these actions is critical to defending the Armenian people, and sending a resolute message that America can and will defend democracy around the world.
"I will always stand with the people of Armenia and Artsakh."
Iran expert Vardan Voskanyan claims the surrender of Artsakh’s Berdzor (Lachin) town and the nearby villages of Aghavno and Sus to Azerbaijan will pose new threats to Armenia.
The Artsakh authorities have ordered the Berdzor and Aghavno residents to leave their settlements located within the Lachin corridor by August 25 amid strong pressure from Azerbaijan.
"If it seems to some that Berdzor, Aghavno and Sus are in some distant place, they are mistaken. They are an important part of the defense shield of our sacred homeland; by giving them away to the enemy, we bring it one step closer to our homes,” Voskanyan wrote on Telegram on Saturday.
“But apart from all this, one of the hardest things is this feeling of shame – enormous, unbearable and soul-crushing shame: the shame that some barbarians and the gang serving them are making our generations spit on our graves, because we have been unworthy of the highest title of being the master of this highland paradise, ceding it part by part to the barbarian hordes,” he said.
Within the framework of the Mendel Festival held in Brno, the Czech Republic, on July 22, at the Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, together with famous Armenian baritone Aksel Daveyan, performed the world premiere of the “Hymn – The Good Captain” (Orhnerg – Navapet Bari) by world-famous Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian.
The piece was composed specially for the festival as a prelude to prominent Czech composer Leoš Janáček՛s Glagolitic Mass, the Armenian Embassy in the Czech Republic reported on Saturday.
The performance received a loud applause from the Czech audience.
The concert in the presence of Tigran Mansurian was held under the honorary auspices of Armenian Ambassador Ashot Hovakimian.
The opening concert of the Symphonic Yerevan International Music Festival will take place in the Arno Babajanyan Concert Hall on August 12. The music lovers will enjoy the performances of Nikolay Poghosyan (bassoon) and Anahit Dilbaryan (piano). The concert program features the works for bassoon and piano by Alexandre Tansman, Paul Hindemith, Henri Dutilleux, Antonio Torriani, and piano preludes of Claude Debussy.
Nikolay Poghosyan says that participating in the Symphonic Yerevan Festival is a prominent event, and the honor of the opening is even more obliging, and they are trying their best to have a pleasant evening.
The musician notes that many works were written for bassoon and piano in different periods. During the evening they will present the works of French, Polish, German and Italian authors of the 20th century. Nikolay Poghosyan says that some of the works have been performed in Armenia by him before, but Antonio Torriani’s Divertimento on themes from Donizetti's "Lucie di Lammermoor" for bassoon and piano will be performed in our country for the first time.
The Symphonic Yerevan International Music Festival is organized by Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC, President Konstantin Ishkhanov).
The festival is being conducted with the support of Yerevan Municipality. The Symphonic Yerevan will present to classical music lovers with 14 concerts. During 14 days an abundant music program will be performed by outstanding musicians. Alexey Shor is the Composer-In-Residence for the festival.
The operational situation on the line of contact between Artsakh and Azerbaijan on the night of August 5-6 and as of 09:00 in the morning, despite some tension, remained relatively stable.
The press service of the Karabakh Defense Army told Armenian News-NEWS.am that in some sections of the line of contact, the Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire by using firearms of various calibers. There are no losses from the Armenian side.
Through the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping forces, work continues to prevent a further escalation of tension and stabilize the situation.
It is important that Armenia fulfills its obligations under the tripartite statement as soon as possible, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Speaking about Azerbaijan's latest aggression against Artsakh, Erdogan noted that he had discussed this issue with the President of Azerbaijan. At the same time, Erdogan accused the Armenian side of the attack.
"First of all, we condemn the attack that resulted in the martyrdom of one of our Azerbaijani brothers. Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan located within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan," he said. "Azerbaijan, of course, does not want illegal armed formations to be on its territory. Almost two years have passed since the tripartite statement. It is important that Armenia fulfill its obligations as soon as possible."