20:26, 2 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened cross-border fire on Saturday at Armenian military outposts near the village of Norabak, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
“On September 2, between 16:00 p.m. and 16:10 p.m., Azerbaijani armed forces units fired from fire arms towards the Armenian combat outposts nearby Norabak,” the defense ministry said.
Azerbaijan says it shelled Sotk in retaliation of Armenia’s attack on Kalbajar region that wounded two of its soldiers.
Four Armenian soldiers have been killed after Azerbaijani shelling near the border town of Sotk, northwest of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh according to Armenia’s Ministry of Defence.
Tensions between Baku and Yerevan have escalated sharply in recent months, as both sides accuse the other of violating agreements and cross-border gunfire.
“As a result of an Azerbaijani provocation, four servicemen were killed and one wounded on the Armenian side,” Armenia’s defence ministry said on Friday, after earlier reporting two were killed.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan said that Armenia had struck positions in the Kalbajar region using drones, wounding three Azerbaijani servicemen. It said it was taking “retaliatory measures”.
Separately, a Azerbaijani soldier was also injured in cross-border fire.
“We declare that all responsibility for the tension and its consequences lies with the military-political leadership of Armenia,” Baku’s defence ministry said.
Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, has been a source of conflict between the two Caucasus neighbours since the years leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Yerevan and Baku have fought two wars for control over the region, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but largely populated by ethnic Armenians.
The two sides have been unable to reach a lasting peace settlement despite mediation efforts by the European Union, United States and Russia.
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of building up troops along the two countries’ volatile borders in August, while Armenia accused Azerbaijan’s military of opening fire on European Union observers.
Separatist authorities in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh said in June that four Armenian soldiers were killed by Azerbaijani fire in Nagorno-Karabakh.
11:20, 2 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has released a statement on the 32nd anniversary of the adoption of the declaration of independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Dear people, dear compatriots,
“32 years ago on this day, the joint session of the deputies of all levels of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region and Shahumyan region, referring to the right to self-determination, made a decision on the adoption of the declaration of independence of Nagorno Karabakh.
“During that period, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh witnessed the massacres of Sumgait, Baku, and Kirovabad, and the adoption of the declaration of independence was also conditioned by an existential threat.
“As a result of the 44-day war, even today, our compatriots living in their homeland, Nagorno-Karabakh, face the threat of ethnic cleansing as a result of Azerbaijan’s policy, due to the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor, the stop of supplies of essential food, gas and electricity.
“The international community is also witnessing the ongoing processes, and the UN Security Council discussions on Nagorno-Karabakh also noted the existence of a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh and the fact that the lives and security of 120,000 people of Nagorno-Karabakh are in doubt. At the same time, it was emphasized that the decisions of the International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6, 2023 on ensuring uninterrupted movement of people, vehicles and cargo in both directions through the Lachin Corridor have not been fulfilled by Azerbaijan.
“We expect the international community to make efforts to prevent the implementation of the policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“I would like to emphasize once again that all statements about the non-existence of Nagorno-Karabakh as a territorial entity and that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is resolved are groundless, unless the issues of security and protection of the rights of NK Armenians are irrevocably addressed.
“Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and the international community clearly record that the comprehensive and long-term settlement of the conflict should take place exclusively through the peace process, including the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue under the international mechanism.
“Dear compatriots, we remember all our heroes martyred for the Motherland and bow before them.
“The Republic of Armenia will continue its efforts to ensure normal life, security and protection of rights in Nagorno-Karabakh. Today, we express our appreciation to all our compatriots of Nagorno-Karabakh, and our task is to ensure their inalienable right to live and create in peace through peaceful, civilized means, through negotiations,” Pashinyan said in the statement.
11:28, 2 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. United States Congressman Frank Pallone has accused Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev of deepening his campaign of ethnic cleansing against Armenians.
“The deadly attacks by Azeri forces today & the brutalization of innocent Armenian students earlier this week are further proof that Aliyev is using the Lachin blockade to intimidate & target Armenians in Artsakh. He is deepening his campaign of ethnic cleansing against Armenians,” Pallone said in a post on X.
11:41, 2 September 2023
STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities have denied Azeri accusations of jamming the GPS systems of civilian aircraft flying from Paris to Beijing and Tel Aviv to Baku over Nagorno-Karabakh.
In a statement, the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Ministry of Defense said that the Azeri accusations are “detached from reality.”
It said that the aircraft operating the abovementioned routes don’t even cross into Nagorno-Karabakh airspace. Furthermore, no airline or country has ever announced about the GPS of the planes getting jammed, which further proves that Azerbaijan is spreading fake news.
The Azeri fake news campaign seeks to divert the international community’s attention from the humanitarian disaster caused by the illegal blockade of Lachin Corridor and prepare information ground for its next provocation, the Nagorno-Karabakh defense ministry said.
“We once again remind that it is the Azerbaijani side itself that during the entire course of the 2020 war and afterwards consistently targeted civilian infrastructures of Artsakh Republic, blockading Lachin Corridor, disrupting gas and electricity supply lines and jamming internet and mobile connection access,” the defense ministry added.
11:48, 2 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Foreign Ministry released a statement on September 2 on the occasion of the 32nd Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Artsakh.
Below is the full statement.
“32 years ago, on September 2, 1991, a joint session of the Councils of People’s Deputies of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and the Shahumyan region proclaimed the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.
Beginning from the day of illegal subjugation of Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan on 5 July, 2021 and throughout its stay within the Azerbaijan SSR, the policy of apartheid and discrimination intensified in Nagorno Karabakh, an atmosphere of hatred and intolerance was created towards the indigenous Armenian people, resulting in armed clashes, human losses and mass deportation of the civilian population of Armenian villages.
To prevent the disastrous course of events, the people of Nagorno Karabakh exercised its right enshrined in the USSR Constitution and laws in force, specifically, the provision of the Law of the USSR Supreme Soviet “On the secession of the Union Republics from the USSR” dated April 3, 1990, according to which “the peoples of the autonomous republics and autonomous formations retain the right to independently resolve the issue of staying in the USSR or in the seceding union republic, as well as to raise the issue of their state-legal status”.
The independence of Nagorno Karabakh was reaffirmed by the results of the nationwide referendum held on December 10, 1991 and the Declaration of Independence adopted on January 6, 1992 at the first session of the NKR Supreme Council.
Thirty years later, Azerbaijan occupied a significant part of the territory of the Republic of Artsakh as a result of a large-scale war it had unleashed. Aiming to achieve the final de-Armenization of Artsakh, ignoring the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, the legally binding decisions of the International Court of Justice and the ECHR, as well as numerous calls by the international community, Azerbaijan has been keeping the 120-thousand population of Artsakh under total siege for about 9 months since December 2022, depriving it of all fundamental rights and freedoms, creating unbearable living conditions and subjecting it to starvation.
Considering the above-mentioned facts, as well as the constant threats against the people of Artsakh and calls for their reprisals by the authorities of Azerbaijan, the international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh can become one of the basic and important guarantees of preventing the genocidal policy against the people of Artsakh.
Expressing our gratitude to all the Armenian sons, who fought for the right to self-determination and freedom of the people of Artsakh, and bowing to the memory of our heroes martyred in the three Artsakh wars, we reiterate that Artsakh was and remains the core of the Pan-Armenian unity, continuing the path it has chosen and fighting for our dignity.
We call upon all the international actors involved in the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement process to take immediate and efficient steps to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and deportation of its indigenous people from the homeland.”
12:14, 2 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Ukrainian-Armenian International School has been opened in Odessa on September 1, AnalitikaUA reports.
The school is supported by the education ministries of Ukraine and Armenia.
Armenian language is integrated in the main academic program and is taught by teachers from Armenia. The program also features the Armenian Culture and History subject. Other languages such as Ukrainian and English are also taught in the school.
13:36, 2 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The situation on the border is relatively stable, the Armenian ministry of defense said Saturday.
In a statement, the ministry of defense said the reports alleging that Azerbaijan on Saturday has again targeted Armenian outposts near Sotk with mortar fire is false.
Three Armenian servicemen were killed and two others were wounded on Friday when Azerbaijani forces opened heavy gunfire at Armenian border outposts near Sotk and Norabak in Gegharkunik province.
13:51, 2 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani authorities have again falsely accused Armenia of opening gunfire on the border, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said Saturday.
“The statement disseminated by the MoD of Azerbaijan that allegedly on September 2, at around 11:00 a.m., units of the Armenian Armed Forces discharged fire from mortars against the Azerbaijani combat positions located in the eastern part of the border, is another disinformation. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan is creating an information basis in order to continue the provocation,” the Armenian Ministry of Defense said.