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After fighting broke out in the troubled Nagorno-Karabakh region, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned against a military conflagration. The “authoritarian regime of Azerbaijan has again declared war on the Armenian people,” Pashinyan said on Armenian television on Sunday. He added: “We are facing an all-out war in the South Caucasus,” which could have “unforeseeable consequences” for the region and possibly beyond.
The Azerbaijani army had previously shelled the troubled Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Armenian government imposed martial law and announced a general mobilization. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Sunday afternoon. All adults are called to arms, Nagorno-Karabakh President Araik Harutjunjan said earlier at an emergency meeting of the regional parliament.
Azerbaijan also declared martial law on Sunday afternoon. “Martial law takes effect at midnight,” said President Hikmet Hajjev on Sunday night in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. He also said that several large cities, including Baku, and areas near the front line in Nagorno-Karabakh have been subject to night curfews.
The Azerbaijani government army and pro-Armenian rebels are waging fierce fighting in the troubled Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Azerbaijani army suffered “heavy losses”, the rebels reported Sunday morning.
The Armenian Defense Ministry, which supports the rebels, reported the shooting down of two Azerbaijani military helicopters and three drones. The rebels said the Azerbaijani army had shelled the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is inhabited largely by Armenians, early Sunday morning.
The capital, Stepanakert, had been bombed, people should be safe, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities announced on Sunday. Numerous houses in towns were destroyed. It is also said that there are wounded.
EU Council President Michel is deeply concerned
The EU and the Council of Europe called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately end the fighting in the troubled Nagorno-Karabakh region. EU Council leader Charles Michel was deeply concerned Sunday via Twitter. “To avoid further escalation, military action must be stopped urgently.” The only way out is an immediate return to negotiations without preconditions.
“The European Union calls for an immediate end to the fighting, the reduction of the escalation and the strict monitoring of the ceasefire,” said the representative of EU Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell. He also called for a return to negotiations.
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric said both countries must take responsibility and act with restraint. The fighting must stop immediately. “By joining the Council of Europe, both countries pledged to resolve the conflict by peaceful means, and this obligation must be strictly adhered to.” Pejcinovic Buric called on both parties to do everything in their power to protect human lives.
Germany and France were also deeply concerned about the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and the reports of civilian casualties. “France demands an immediate end to the fighting and the resumption of dialogue,” the French Foreign Ministry said in Paris.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas emphasized in Berlin that the conflict could only be resolved through negotiation. The OSCE Minsk Group with its three co-chairs France, Russia and the United States is ready for this. The OSCE is the organization for security and cooperation in Europe.
Russia calls on Azerbaijan and Armenia for a ceasefire
Russia also called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the fighting immediately. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is holding intense talks to persuade the warring parties to stop the fire in the conflict region, the authority announced in Moscow on Sunday. Both countries would have to return to the negotiating table.
Lavrov telephoned, among other things, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu. From Ankara it was only said that it was the “aggression” of Armenia. In Moscow, the ministry announced that both diplomatic chiefs had expressed concern about the situation. They expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said the army had launched a “counteroffensive” “to stop Armenia’s military activities and protect the safety of the people.” The Ministry spoke of a downed helicopter.
Both sides blamed each other for the fighting. The bombing started early in the morning from the Azerbaijani side, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan wrote on Facebook. “All responsibility for this rests with the political-military leadership of Azerbaijan,” said the spokeswoman for the Armenian Defense Ministry.
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Therefore, Yerevan used helicopters and combat drones. Three enemy tanks were hit. There were reports that a state of emergency had been imposed.
The two Caucasus states, Armenia and Azerbaijan, have been in conflict over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region for almost 30 years. Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inhabited mainly by Armenians, was added to Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. Pro-Armenian rebels took control of the area after fighting with some 30,000 deaths in the early 1990s.
Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan under international law
In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed its independence; internationally, however, the area is not yet recognized as an independent state. Azerbaijan wants to fully regain the region under its control, if necessary by force. According to international law, the region belongs to Islamic Azerbaijan.
There has been a ceasefire in the region since 1994, but it has been repeatedly broken. In July there was intense fighting on the border between the republics at war; however, the fighting took place hundreds of kilometers north of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia depends on Russia as a protective power, which has stationed thousands of soldiers and weapons there.
In recent weeks, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has flared up again. Both parties accused each other of attacking towns in the border area. The last time there were fierce clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh was in April 2016. More than 100 people were killed. In 2010, the last major peace initiative between Yerevan and Baku failed. (AFP, dpa, teaspoon)
