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The tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the South Caucasus, which is a critical corridor for pipelines that transport oil and natural gas to world markets, turned into a heated conflict yesterday due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Baku announced that Armenia attacked the front line in violation of the Karabakh ceasefire regime and claimed that it was responded to.
While the parties gave the message that the war situation had begun, the news that at least 5 civilians, including a child, lost their lives and military casualties were on the agenda of the growing fire in the region. Tensions rose in the Caucasus at a time when attention was focused on tensions between Ankara, Moscow and the United States, Syria, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean, which are challenging issues in the framework of EU relations. In Nagorno-Karabakh, which is under the occupation of Russia’s close ally Armenia, the fighting that has erupted in some places since last July has turned into a war. In some comments, it was noted that the blaze occurred after last week’s Caucasus 2000 exercise, which included Russia, Armenia, Belarus and China.
‘There are more than 100 injured’
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that Armenia launched an attack on the country’s territory yesterday morning. Baku reported that the army launched a counterattack “to suppress the war activities of Armenia and guarantee the safety of the population.” The Azerbaijani parliament announced that a “state of war” has been declared in some parts of the country.
The Armenian government also announced that it declared a “state of war” in the country due to the events in Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan stated that 16 Armenian soldiers died and more than 100 people were injured in clashes with Azerbaijani forces in Karabakh. The Armenian Defense Ministry also claimed that Azerbaijan lost 4 helicopters, 15 UAVs, 10 tanks and armored vehicles in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani Presidency spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev said that the Armenian forces in Karabakh “clearly violated the ceasefire regime and launched a massive attack on the Azerbaijani armed forces positions on the front line with heavy weapons.”
Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor’s Office announced that five civilians were killed in a mortar attack by Armenian forces in the village of Gaşaltı. On the other hand, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry stated that a helicopter crashed and the soldiers were in good health. Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said: “The defense line of the Armenian army was broken in Nagorno-Karabakh and 7 villages in the conflict zone were taken under control.” The captured villages were claimed to be Garakhanbeyli, Sharvanj, Kand Horadiz, Yukari Abdurrahmanli, Boyuk Marcanli villages in the Fuzuli-Cerbayil region, the Agdara region and Murovdag.
Following the events, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, addressed the nation on television. He accused Armenia of undermining the Karabakh peace talks, promising victory against the Armenian forces. Aliyev’s words, “Our cause is just and we will win,” drew attention, repeating a famous quote from the speech of former Soviet Union President Joseph Stalin during the outbreak of World War II in Russia.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also argued in a televised statement that Azerbaijan initiated the attack. He claimed that the Azerbaijani army attacked civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinyan said: “The authoritarian regime of Azerbaijan has once again declared war on the Armenian people” and expressed the opinion that a full-scale war in the South Caucasus could have unforeseen consequences.
TARGET RECEIVES TURKISH
Paşiny, who has opposed Turkey’s support for Baku in his speech. He suggested that Turkey should involve the international community on the intervention. International not tanınırlılıg, some countries in the Armenian occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh leader also in Turkey, including Arai Harutyunyan, including “Azerbaijan to send mercenaries” accused. Harutyunyan used the expression “The Turkish army is already in Azerbaijan under the guise of an exercise.”
A CALL TO RETURN TO THE MEETINGS
After the tension came a movement to dialogue from Russia, an ally of Yerevan. The Kremlin announced that Russian President Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan met yesterday by phone. The meeting was said to have discussed the issue of not allowing the conflict to escalate further.
“We call on the parties to immediately stop the conflict and begin negotiations to stabilize the situation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with the foreign ministers of both countries.
Russia stated that it will continue its mediation efforts to stabilize the situation with other members of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Calls were also made from the EU, Germany and France to return to negotiations. The mediation proposal came from Iran.
UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM ANKARA
Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia with Azerbaijan in the front line between the armed forces of Armenia from Azerbaijan to Turkey, posts of full support related to the conflict were raised. The first statement from Ankara came yesterday morning from Hami Aksoy, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.
In making a statement in response to a question on the matter, Aksoy stated that they learned that the Armenian army set fire to many villages with heavy weapons on the Karabakh front line and said: “We strongly condemn the Armenian attack, which is a clear violation of international law and also caused civilian casualties. With these attacks, Armenia has shown once again that it is the greatest obstacle to peace and stability in the region.
‘HOW DOES AZERBAIJAN …’
“Azerbaijan, of course, will use its right to self-defense to protect its people and its territorial integrity,” Al said. “In this process, Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan as one heart is full. We will support Azerbaijan however it wants. We invite the international community to support the just ”.
ÇAVUŞOĞLU-LAVROV MEETING
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met first with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and then with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov by phone. Turkish foreign officials reported that Çavuşoğlu discussed the issue of “Armenian aggression” with Lavrov, while the Russian Foreign Ministry statement on the Lavrov-Çavuşoğlu meeting emphasized “the emergency ceasefire and the stabilization of the situation on the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh “.
The Minister of National Defense, Hulusi Akar, also made a phone call with the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, Zakir Hasanov. Akar said the talks emphasized Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan. Akar was said to have said “We will support our Azerbaijani brothers with all our means in the fight to protect territorial integrity.”
On the social media account of the Ministry of National Defense, it was stated that “We wish Allah’s mercy to our Azerbaijani Turkish brothers who were martyred in the treacherous attack on Armenia in the belief that the blood of our martyrs will not remain in the ground, and our condolences to all the Azerbaijani people. “
The tension that has been building for years
The problem in Nagorno-Karabakh arose after the dissolution of the USSR. The referendum of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh to join Armenia in 1988 fueled social conflict between the two countries. With the withdrawal of Russian troops from the region in 1992, the tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia turned into hot conflicts from time to time. Despite the ceasefire with the Bishkek Protocol in 1994, the parties are still legally at war.
The Minsk Group, which was established within the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), undertook various initiatives as a platform for a solution, but a lasting peace could not be achieved. To date, there has been no progress on the main points of disagreement on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the territories occupied by Armenia and the situation of the displaced.
