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During a closed-door meeting, members of the United Nations Security Council called on both Armenia and Azerbaijan to abide by a new armistice they had agreed to in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, at a time when clashes between the nations continue. two sides, amid their guarantees of achieving military superiority on the ground.
During the meeting, which was held at the request of France, Russia and the United States, the 15 members of the Council reiterated the call made by the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, to the two parties to respect the “humanitarian armistice” that supposed to go into effect on Sunday.
“They all shared the same point of view. The situation is bad, and both sides should back down and respond to the secretary-general’s calls for a ceasefire,” a UN diplomat told AFP.
According to diplomats, Russia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, is working to issue a statement calling for commitment to the ceasefire.
The draft declaration, on which Council members are expected to agree this week, also calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations sponsored by the Minsk Group.
Russia, France and the United States are chairing the Minsk Group – established by the OSCE in 1992 – a meeting to find a solution to this regional conflict (20:00 GMT on Sunday). However, on Monday morning, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that Armenian “separatist” forces bombed the lands of the Agjabirdi region and at night the Gheranboy, Tarter and Agdam regions.
Charges and tolls
For their part, the Nagorno Karabakh authorities accused Azerbaijan of firing artillery at night “against various sectors of the front” and continuing their attacks in the morning. “The Karabakh army is taking proportionate measures,” he said.
The new truce was announced after the most violent attack on civilians on Saturday, when a missile hit a residential area in Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second city, killing 13 people, including children.
And the resumption of fighting three weeks ago resulted in the deaths of more than 800 people, according to official figures released by the two sides. But the losses are believed to be much higher, as Azerbaijan has not announced any military tolls.
Yerevan announced that 710 Armenian soldiers and 36 civilians were killed in the clashes, while Baku says 60 Azerbaijani civilians were killed.
The fighting left civilian casualties and massive damage (Reuters)Field developments
In the field developments, the Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense transmitted images, which it said were of vehicles, military equipment and ammunition that the army had taken in the lines of combat with the Armenian forces. The ministry added in a statement that most of those remains were seized in Gabriel and Fizuli.
For its part, the Armenian Defense Ministry said it had killed 150 members of the Azerbaijani army and destroyed 12 armored vehicles.
This ministry transmitted images of what it said were operations against the Azerbaijani army sites, accusing it of attacking civilians and residential complexes in the city of Martoni and other cities.
Tension reigns in Karabakh, amid fears of a full-scale war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the southern Caucasus, where Ankara and Moscow compete. Russia and Iran have offered to mediate between Yerevan and Baku to resolve the dispute over the region.
Under international law, the Nagorno Karabakh region is part of Azerbaijan, but the Armenians, who make up the vast majority of its population, reject the Baku government.
The region has been managing its private affairs with the support of Armenia since its defection from Azerbaijan, during a conflict that erupted when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Aliyev: Azerbaijan is ready to negotiate (Al Jazeera)Dispute settlement
Earlier, both the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, announced their willingness to negotiate directly with the aim of solving the conflict in the Karabakh region, in light of the intensification of the fighting and Azerbaijan’s control over more villages.
In two parallel meetings with the Russian agency “TASS”, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is ready to negotiate with Armenia to resolve the dispute over Karabakh in Moscow or any other capital.
For his part, Pashinyan stressed that the dispute with Azerbaijan over Karabakh can only be resolved by peaceful means, expressing his willingness to hold a direct meeting with the Azerbaijani president in the Russian capital.
In this context, the Politico news site revealed that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will hold separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia next Friday in Washington, DC.
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