Nargono-Karabakh dispute: Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict or Russian-Turkish ‘ring’?



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Both Russia and Turkey have strategic considerations around the disputed territory of Nargono-Karabakh.

The Turkish determination also shows a confrontation between Ankara and Moscow on other battlefields, from Syria to Libya, where Russia is and where Turkey is.

Nargono-Karabakh dispute: Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict or Russia-Turkey arena?  - First

The Nargono-Karabakh dispute is showing signs of escalation and strong engagement from Russia and Turkey. (Source: Reuters)

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are increasingly in conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. On October 4, Azerbaijan accused Armenian forces of raiding the country’s second-largest city, while the Armenian government insisted that it “at all costs” protect the inhabitants of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Stepanakert, the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, was shelled by the Azerbaijani army several times on October 2, causing the Karabakh separatists to have 54 more dead, bringing the total number of soldiers killed to 158.

Although the situation was calm on the night of October 2 and the morning of October 3, on October 4 the capital area continued to be bombed. The Azerbaijani army is said to have attacked the city’s center of power, causing a widespread blackout. Meanwhile, Reuters reported, the Azerbaijani government accused the Armenian army of bombing Ganja, the country’s second-largest city, meaning that the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region had a further escalation.

Previously, on October 2, France, Russia and the United States, the three countries co-chaired the Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), continued to call for Yerevan and Baku. stop fighting.

On the same day, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and proposed “initiating a process to allow the resumption of negotiations within the framework of the Minsk group.”

Armenia wants ceasefire, Azerbaijan demands enemy withdrawal

The Armenian side recorded heavy losses on October 3 and its leadership admitted that the country faced a historic threat.

Seven days after the conflict broke out in the Armenian separatist province, which had been disputed for decades, AFP citing the country’s defense ministry as saying that secular forces had retreated. a massive attack from Azerbaijan.

Shushan Stepanyan, a spokesman for the ministry, said that the Armenian-backed separatists in Karabakh destroyed a “large military group” of Azerbaijani forces, but also recorded the death of 51 additional soldiers in total. Of the 240 casualties in the rear, almost a week of fighting.

In an address to the nation, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said: “We may be facing the most decisive moment in the history of our millennium. We have to put all our energy into a victory goal. “

The Armenian Foreign Ministry reported that the country would protect “by all means” the inhabitants of the separatist zone, which was the target of the attack by the Azerbaijani army and its ally Turkey. Until now, officially, the Armenian army did not fight in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, but the Armenian Prime Minister emphasized that the current conflict is a “war of nationality”.

Faced with complicated developments and rising casualties, Armenia wants to negotiate an armistice under the auspices of the OSCE, while Azerbaijan wants Armenia to withdraw.

AFP cited a statement by Armenia on October 2 saying it was “ready to cooperate” with intermediaries, but Azerbaijan insisted that Armenian forces must withdraw their troops completely before a ceasefire can be signed. conclusion.

The Azerbaijani ambassador to France believed that the only solution was for Armenia to withdraw its troops from the separatist zone located in the territory of Azerbaijan but with the majority of the Armenian population.

Previously, the President of Azerbaijan confirmed that there would be no negotiations with Armenia if Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan rejected the proposals of the three powers of France, the United States and Russia.

Where is Ankara, that place is Moscow

The French daily Le Monde said that in the context of the war in the increasingly boiling Nagorno-Karabakh region, the “fire” between the two countries Armenia and Azerbaijan in Kavkaz is also where Russia and Turkey compete. wants to maintain the status quo, the party wants to exert influence.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region has become a tense new issue between Turkey and Europe. During a phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the night of September 30, the two sides “agreed to cooperate to pressure all parties for a ceasefire” and, according to Putin, Moscow is ready. to do it. mediator.

As for Turkey, perhaps Ankara’s true strategic objective is to use the army to “drive Russia” out of the region.

Ankara’s intervention in the war, in addition to political reasons, to win over voters is to lose faith in the ruling AKP party, also for economic reasons. When it announced its willingness to help Baku, Turkey looked to the pipeline connecting Azerbaijan and Georgia to its city of Ceyhan. It is “a matter of life and death”, as a senior official in Turkey’s Department of Energy told the press.

More deeply, according to international expert Richard Giragosian, after Syria, Libya and more recently the Mediterranean, President Erdogan sees the Caucasus region as an opportunity for Turkey to expand its influence. The Turkish determination also shows a confrontation between Ankara and Moscow on other battlefields, from Syria to Libya, where Russia is, where Turkey is.

According to expert Richard Giragosian, Ankara’s target is not Armenia. Erdogan wanted to take advantage of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh to regain the role of Baku’s number one “military adviser and arms supplier.” In other words, this is a power struggle between Turkey and Russia.

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