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The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claims that 2,300 Armenian soldiers have died since the conflict began, Anadolu Agency reported.
- The fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Wednesday entered a fourth day in the largest eruption of conflict in decades since a 1994 ceasefire.
- Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed region within Azerbaijan and controlled by ethnic Armenians. It was separated from Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s, but no country recognizes it as an independent republic.
- The fighting has spread beyond the borders of the disputed region and threatens to escalate into all-out war between the former Soviet republics.
- Dozens of people were reported killed and hundreds injured since the new wave of fighting broke out on Sunday.
- Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are underway to stop the fighting, and the United Nations is calling for an immediate halt to the fighting.
Here are the latest updates:
Wednesday September 30
08:07 GMT: Macron criticizes Turkey’s “warlike” rhetoric in Nagorno-Karabakh
French President Emmanuel Macron said Turkey’s “bellicose” rhetoric was encouraging Azerbaijan to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh and that was unacceptable, although he added that he had no evidence at this stage of Turkey’s direct involvement.
On Sunday fierce fighting broke out between Armenian and Azeri forces over Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist region within Azerbaijan but led by ethnic Armenians. Turkey is an ally of Azerbaijan, with whom it shares ethnic and cultural ties.
“I have taken note of the political statements of Turkey (in favor of Azerbaijan), which I think are inconsiderate and dangerous,” Macron told a press conference in Latvia.
07:25 GMT: Armenia says it does not need external military aid
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Tuesday, says he is not currently considering asking for help under a post-Soviet security treaty, but did not rule out doing so.
“Armenia will guarantee their safety, with or without the participation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO),” Pashinyan was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
He said he and Putin had not discussed the possibility of a Russian military intervention in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Russia has used the CSTO, along with the Eurasian Economic Union, another regional bloc focused on trade, to project influence across most of the former Soviet Union.
07:00 GMT – Armenia not ready for Russia-mediated peace talks: PM
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said peace talks with Azerbaijan under Russian mediation would be inappropriate as the fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region entered on a fourth day.
“It is not very appropriate to speak of a summit between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia at a time of intense hostilities,” Pashinyan told Russia’s Interfax news agency. “A suitable atmosphere and conditions are needed for negotiations.”
06:35 GMT – 2,300 Armenian soldiers ‘neutralized’: Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan
At least 2,300 Armenian soldiers have been killed or wounded by Azerbaijani troops since the conflict between the two countries began on Sunday, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said, according to a report by the Anadolu Agency.
The ministry statement added that 130 tanks and armored vehicles, more than 200 artillery and missile systems, approximately 25 air defense systems, six command and observation zones, five ammunition depots, 50 anti-tank guns and 55 cars were also destroyed.
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s ongoing coverage of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I am Usaid Siddiqui in Doha, Qatar.
You can read the September 29 updates here.
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