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Image posted, Reuters
Turkey, which has F-16s, openly supports Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Armenia says Turkish jets shot down one of its fighter jets in a major escalation of the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry said the captain of the Soviet-made “Su-25” plane was killed after it was hit by a Turkish “F-16” plane in Armenian airspace.
Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan in the conflict, denied this claim.
About 100 people, including civilians, were killed during three days of fighting over the disputed mountainous region.
This enclave is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but Armenians have run it since a war that lasted between 1988 and 1994 between the two former Soviet republics.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that its air force does not include F-16 fighter jets. However, Turkey owns these aircraft.
The fighting that began three days ago appears to extend beyond Nagorno-Karabakh, as Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged accusations of direct fire on their soil.
The two countries also exchange accusations of having started the fighting.
While Turkey openly supports Azerbaijan, Russia, which has a military base in Armenia but is also friends with Azerbaijan, has called for an immediate ceasefire.
What happened to the plane?
Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said the Armenian “Su-25” plane was shot down Tuesday morning and the pilot “died heroically.”
She said, in a post on Facebook, that the Turkish F-16 aircraft penetrated 60 kilometers into Armenian airspace.
Turkey immediately denied the claim and described it as “totally false”.
Fakhreddin Altun, aide to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said: “Armenia should withdraw from the territories under its occupation rather than resort to cheap propaganda tricks.”
No physical evidence of the accident was announced. Azerbaijan asked Armenia to provide evidence.
Image posted, Reuters
Authorities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which no one recognizes, say the enemy forces suffered heavy losses.
What is the latest news from the battlefield?
Earlier Tuesday, both Armenia and Azerbaijan said that heavy fighting continued overnight in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Authorities in the area, which no one has acknowledged, said 87 of its members had been killed and 120 wounded since the fighting began on Sunday, according to the “Armenpress” news agency.
The same authorities put the death toll on the Azerbaijani side at around 400, and said that one plane, four helicopters and several tanks had been destroyed.
Azerbaijan has not published any number of military casualties, but says 12 civilians were killed by Armenian fire.
News agencies quoted the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry as saying that Armenian forces repeatedly tried and failed to recover lost sites in the Fuzuli-Gabriel and Agdarh-Tartre regions.
The ministry said that a column of Armenian armored vehicles and other combat vehicles were destroyed, adding that the enemy suffered heavy losses.
The claims of Armenia and Azerbaijan about the victims have not been independently verified.
What are the chances of a ceasefire?
The chances of a ceasefire at this point appear to be slim.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Russian media that the atmosphere is not suitable for talks in light of the continuing military operations.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who also spoke to the Russian media, dismissed any conversation due to Armenia’s current position.
Image posted, EPA
Azerbaijan says a column of Armenian armored vehicles and other combat vehicles were destroyed.
Russia holds the key
analyzing: Emre temel – BBC Turkish
Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan have always been strong. When fighting erupted around Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday, Turkey immediately offered its support “on the ground and at the negotiating table,” in the words of its foreign minister.
The two countries share history, language and heritage, and their leaders often refer to “one nation, two states.” Turkey’s border with Armenia has been closed since 1993 as a gesture of support for Azerbaijan for Nagorno-Karabakh.
President Erdoan pledged to support Azerbaijan “with all his heart and resources.” But it is still unknown whether Turkey has provided military experts, drones and fighter jets to Azerbaijan, as Armenia claims.
However, it is Russia, not Turkey, who holds the key to the region. It has a joint defense agreement with Armenia and a military base on Armenian territory. Turkey is already at odds with Russia over Syria and Libya, and the Caucasus could open a new front.
Being against Russia could be a great risk for Turkey, economically and militarily. Russia is Turkey’s main energy supplier and its main trading partner.
Nagorno-Karabakh – basic facts
- A mountainous area with an area of about 4,400 square kilometers.
- It is traditionally inhabited by Armenian Christians and Turkish Muslims.
- In Soviet times, it became an autonomous region within the Republic of Azerbaijan.
- It is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the majority of the population is of Armenian origin.
- The authorities in the region are not recognized by any member of the United Nations, including Armenia itself.
- An estimated one million people were displaced by the war between 1988-1994, and nearly 30,000 people died.
- Separatist forces captured some additional territories around the enclave in Azerbaijan.
- Stagnation has largely prevailed since the 1994 ceasefire.
- Turkey openly supports Azerbaijan.
- Russia has a military base in Armenia.
Image posted, EPA
The bombing damaged houses in Martoni.
What is the background?
In 1988, near the end of the Soviet rule, Azerbaijani forces and Armenian separatists started a bloody war that left Nagorno-Karabakh in the hands of the Armenians by signing an armistice in 1994.
Tens of thousands were killed in the fighting and many Azerbaijanis were forced to flee their homes.
It is now a de facto independent region, largely dependent on the support of Armenia. But no member of the United Nations recognizes it, including Armenia.
Furthermore, large tracts of Azerbaijani lands around the enclave are under Armenian control.
So far, the negotiations have failed to reach a permanent peace agreement, and the conflict in the region remains one of the “frozen conflicts” in Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Karabakh is the Russian translation of the Azerbaijani word meaning “black garden”, while Nagorno is a Russian word meaning “mountainous”. Armenians prefer to call the region Artsakh, which is an ancient Armenian name for the region.
Over the years, both sides have killed soldiers in various ceasefire violations. The landlocked country, Armenia, has suffered severe economic problems due to the closure of the borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Russia, France and the United States are co-chairs of the Minsk Group, which is affiliated with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The group is trying to mediate to end the dispute.
