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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said his country’s army took control of a third city in the vicinity of Karabakh, while the US State Department summoned the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to Washington. to discuss the crisis in the region.
The President of Azerbaijan said that the army is making great strides, highlighting control of the city of Zinjilan, south of Karabakh, which is located on the border with Armenia.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Almutaz Billah Hassan stated that the importance of this city lies in the fact that it is one of the 7 main cities surrounding Karabakh and was controlled by Armenia, which means the advance of the Azerbaijani army after control 3 cities in the vicinity of the region, as well as their villages.
In turn, the Azerbaijani army announced that it is still gaining control on the ground, despite the fact that several of its positions have been bombed along the line of fighting.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry also transmitted images of vehicles, military equipment and ammunition that the Azerbaijani army seized 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 described the situation in Karabakh as relatively stable and tense, with fighting continuing in some areas and fierce fighting in the south near Iskhanadzor.
The spokesman for the head of the Karabakh region, which is not internationally recognized, confirmed that the Azeri forces had not advanced north, stating that they had suffered heavy losses in life and equipment.
The Armenian Defense Ministry also said its forces killed 150 members of the Azerbaijani army and destroyed 12 armored vehicles.
The ministry broadcast images of what it said were attacks on sites by the Azerbaijani army, which it accused of targeting civilians and residential complexes in the city of Martoni and other cities.
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 casualties.
Yerevan announced that 710 Armenian soldiers and 36 civilians were killed in the fighting, while Baku says 60 Azeri civilians have died.
Diplomatic movements
On the political front, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that Foreign Minister Jehun Piramov will meet with his US counterpart, Mike Pompeo, in Washington next Friday.
In a statement posted on its website, the ministry added that Pyramov will also meet with the heads of the Minsk group.
The US website “Politico” reported that Pompeo invited his Armenian counterparts Zohrab Manatsakanyan and Azerbaijani Jihon Piramov to two separate meetings in Washington next Friday.
It is unclear whether the meetings include direct talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides.
Call the Security Council
Meanwhile, members of the UN Security Council called, during a closed-door meeting, both Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect the new armistice.
A UN diplomat said that all members emphasized that the situation was bad and that both sides should back off and heed the Secretary-General’s calls for a ceasefire.
Diplomats said Russia was 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.
However, Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop said that the Minsk group, which had not found a solution to the Karabakh problem for 30 years, was brain dead.
In a speech to members of the Azerbaijani Parliament in Baku today, Shantoub explained that a final solution will not be reached in the Caucasus as long as Armenia continues to occupy the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and the surrounding areas.
He affirmed Turkey’s continued support for Azerbaijan to achieve its just objectives and restore its Armenian-occupied territories.
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 running its own affairs with the support of Armenia since it seceded from Azerbaijan during a conflict that erupted when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
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