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Armenia acknowledged the death of more of its soldiers and the fall of other regions at the hands of the Azerbaijani army, which continued its advance in and around the Nagorno Karabakh region. While fighting continued after the collapse of the third humanitarian truce, Iran offered an initiative for a solution and stepped up its deployment on its common borders with its two neighbors.
The defense ministry of the unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh region announced on Tuesday that 35 of its soldiers had been killed, bringing the number of its military dead to 1,009 since the outbreak of fighting on September 27.
Hours earlier, a spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry acknowledged the withdrawal of its forces from the strategic city of “Qubadli”, which lies between Karabakh and the Iranian border, which could indicate a military victory for Azerbaijan, according to Reuters.
The same spokesman also admitted the advance of Azerbaijani forces in some directions, saying that Yerevan-backed Armenian fighters withdrew from the city of Qubadli, south of Karabakh, to avoid unnecessary losses, as he himself put it.
Yesterday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev confirmed in a speech to the people that his forces had taken control of new areas in and around the region, and before that, Aliyev said that his country is determined to restore its occupied lands. , either by diplomatic or military means, and the ceasefire stipulates the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied areas.
During the war that took place between 1991 and 1994, Azerbaijan lost control of Karabakh and other lands in its surroundings, which constituted 20% of the country.
In the last four weeks, the Azerbaijani army managed to liberate the cities of Gabriel, Fuzuli and Zangilan, several cities, more than 130 villages, as well as strategic heights.
Continuous battles
Battles continued today on various front lines in the Karabakh region, amid fresh accusations of bombardment of cities and towns on both sides.
While the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported that there was fighting on 3 fronts, the separatist Defense Ministry said in Karabakh that this morning battles took place in different parts of the front.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said today that its forces repelled attacks by Armenian forces on the Khojawand, Fuzuli and Qubadli fronts, inflicting losses on them, emphasizing that they control the reins and have the upper hand on all fronts.
While Armenia accused Azerbaijani forces of bombing border points, Baku criticized this and accused Armenian forces of attacking areas near the border, including the city of Tartar.
Iranian Initiative
Politically, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said today that his country has prepared a proposal for a permanent solution to the Nagorno Karabakh region, which will soon be presented to Moscow and Yerevan.
Zarif added that the Iranian move is based on respecting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and not changing international borders, noting that Tehran has informed everyone of its refusal to assist what it called the Karabakh terrorists.
Abbas Araghchi, political aide to the Iranian Foreign Minister, will visit Baku, Moscow, Yerevan and Ankara to discuss the Iranian initiative.
The Iranian initiative comes as the Iranian military announced today the strengthening of air defense units in the northwestern border region in the context of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Previously, Iran had deployed Revolutionary Guard forces on its common borders with the two countries.
For his part, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stressed that the Armenian people are willing to accept what he described as commitments to resolve the conflict with Azerbaijan, but stressed that he will not accept surrender, accusing Azerbaijan of not wanting a peaceful solution. to the conflict.
A day after the failure of the humanitarian truce negotiated by Washington, the Secretary of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo, today telephoned the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia and asked them to stop the fighting and seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict. .
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