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Uncompromising and determined to continue the conflict, ignoring international calls for a ceasefire, the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia came forward on Wednesday (09/30), the fourth day of the bloody conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Stepanakert, the capital of the self-proclaimed and unrecognized “Republic of Artsakh,” was plunged into darkness tonight, but the fighting from the front did not reach the city, which according to local authorities was bombed on Sunday. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry announced late Wednesday that 23 more people had died today in this mountainous enclave.
On the diplomatic front, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed a tripartite meeting with his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in Moscow, reiterating the call for a ceasefire. This call becomes even more urgent after Russia’s complaint that fighters from “mainly Syria and Libya” are developing in the conflict zone and there is a danger of “escalation” throughout the region.
Moscow, without naming any country, demanded that the development of “foreign terrorists and mercenaries” not be allowed.
Armenia was the first country to report that Syrian fighters, allies of Turkey, were sent to fight on the Karabakh front, something Azerbaijan denies, accusing Yerevan of developing war veterans in Syria.
The internationalization of the conflict could destabilize an area in which strong countries in the region such as Russia, Turkey and Iran already compete.
Baku demands a “complete withdrawal” of the Armenians
Earlier in Baku, after visiting wounded soldiers in a hospital, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev promised to continue the fight “until the complete, unconditional and prompt withdrawal” of the Armenian forces. Only under this condition “the fighting will stop, the blood will stop flowing,” he insisted.
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nicole Pasinian closed the door to negotiations, saying it is inappropriate to hold a peace summit “while the fierce fighting continues.”
The UN Security Council, which met urgently to discuss the issue, unanimously called for an end to hostilities.
According to the Athens Agency, Russia, one of the most influential countries in the South Caucasus, maintains cordial relations with both countries, which were Soviet republics until 30 years ago. However, it has signed a defense agreement with Armenia.
Dozens of victims
According to official reports, in addition to the 23 victims recorded tonight by the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, 104 people have died in the fighting, 81 of whom were Armenian separatist fighters.
Azerbaijan has reported no casualties among its troops. However, a journalist from the French Agency was present at the funeral of a soldier in Beylagan. According to the neighbors, this man fell head-on.
Outside military offices in Baku, as well as in Yerevan, dozens of men of all ages gather to volunteer.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry says 2,300 Armenian separatists have been killed and 130 tanks and 200 artillery pieces have been destroyed since Sunday. The Armenian Defense Ministry, on the other hand, says 790 Azeri soldiers have been killed and 137 tanks and armored vehicles, as well as 7 Azerbaijani helicopters, have been destroyed. All these figures cannot be verified by independent sources.
Azerbaijan says it gained territory and cut off Armenian supply lines. On the contrary, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities say they have regained positions that they had initially lost.
Armenia continues to accuse Turkey of providing military assistance to Azerbaijan, mostly from the air, and of shooting down a fighter jet on Tuesday, a claim denied by Ankara and Baku. An immediate military intervention by Turkey would mean the internationalization of the conflict, a potentially catastrophic scenario.
Turkey is the only power that has not called for a ceasefire, urging Azerbaijan to retake Karabakh by force of arms, without going through Armenia, its historical enemy. The Kremlin, which has complicated but pragmatic relations with Turkey, has accused Ankara of “adding fuel to the fire.”
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