Russia and the UN urged on Wednesday for an end to the violence in the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh following the launch of a military assault against separatist forces.
Baku has threatened that it will “continue until the end” its two conflicts with neighboring Armenia over the region with a majority of Armenian citizens.
The most recent event took place when Russia, the established power broker in the area, was mired in the Ukraine crisis and was thus shunned by the West.
“We urge the conflicting parties to immediately stop the bloodshed, stop hostilities and eliminate civilian casualties,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
It also said its 2,000-strong peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh was evacuating civilians and providing medical assistance.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres similarly demanded an end to hostilities.
He called in the “strongest terms for an immediate end to the fighting, de-escalation, and stricter observance of the 2020 ceasefire”, said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The United States and France rushed a day earlier to try to halt an Azerbaijani offensive.
The UN Security Council was urged to convene immediately to discuss the issue on Tuesday by Paris, which occurred as world leaders met in New York for the General Assembly.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan spoke over the phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Blinken urged Azerbaijan “to cease military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh immediately and deescalate the situation” in a call with President Ilham Aliyev, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Fears of a fresh war in the volatile Caucasus region have been growing recently, with Armenia accusing Azerbaijan of a troop build-up around the disputed territory.
Separatists said Azerbaijan on Tuesday pounded the mountainous territory with artillery, aircraft and drones.
Blasts rocked the separatist stronghold Stepanakert.
More than 7,000 people were evacuated from 16 villages, the separatists said.
Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said it had taken control of more than 60 military positions during “localized anti-terrorist measures”.
Armenian separatists said on social media that fighting was ongoing “along the entire line of contact” and that Azerbaijani forces were “trying to advance” into the territory.
Separatists said 27 people, including civilians, were killed and more than 200 wounded.
Baku said it would fight until the separatists surrendered.
“Illegal Armenian armed forces must raise the white flag,” Azerbaijan’s presidency said.
“Otherwise, the anti-terrorist measures will continue until the end. ”The ex-Soviet Caucasus rivals fought two wars over the mountainous territory, in the 1990s and in 2020.
The latest offensive raised fears that the unrest could destabilize the region.
As angry protesters clashed with police in Armenia’s capital Yerevan, calling on Pashinyan to resign, the country’s security council warned of large-scale unrest, vowing to take “effective measures” to maintain constitutional order.
More than 30 people were injured in the clashes, the health ministry said.
Accusing Azerbaijan of engaging in “ethnic cleansing of Karabakh Armenians”, Pashinyan said in a televised address that the Armenian army was not involved in the fighting and the situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan was “stab Armenia’s foreign ministry called on Russian peacekeepers to “take clear and unequivocal steps to stop” the fighting.
Azerbaijan justified its operation citing “systematic” shelling by Armenian-backed forces and accusing them of carrying out “reconnaissance activities” and fortifying defensive positions, accusing separatists of “a high level of combat readiness”.
Russia and the UN urged on Wednesday for an end to the violence in the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh following the launch of a military assault against separatist forces.
Baku has threatened that it will “continue until the end” its two conflicts with neighboring Armenia over the region with a majority of Armenian citizens.
The most recent event took place when Russia, the established power broker in the area, was mired in the Ukraine crisis and was thus shunned by the West.
“We urge the conflicting parties to immediately stop the bloodshed, stop hostilities and eliminate civilian casualties,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
It also said its 2,000-strong peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh was evacuating civilians and providing medical assistance.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres similarly demanded an end to hostilities.
He called in the “strongest terms for an immediate end to the fighting, de-escalation, and stricter observance of the 2020 ceasefire”, said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The United States and France rushed a day earlier to try to halt an Azerbaijani offensive.
The UN Security Council was urged to convene immediately to discuss the issue on Tuesday by Paris, which occurred as world leaders met in New York for the General Assembly.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan spoke over the phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Blinken urged Azerbaijan “to cease military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh immediately and deescalate the situation” in a call with President Ilham Aliyev, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Fears of a fresh war in the volatile Caucasus region have been growing recently, with Armenia accusing Azerbaijan of a troop build-up around the disputed territory.
Separatists said Azerbaijan on Tuesday pounded the mountainous territory with artillery, aircraft and drones.
Blasts rocked the separatist stronghold Stepanakert.
More than 7,000 people were evacuated from 16 villages, the separatists said.
Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said it had taken control of more than 60 military positions during “localized anti-terrorist measures”.
Armenian separatists said on social media that fighting was ongoing “along the entire line of contact” and that Azerbaijani forces were “trying to advance” into the territory.
Separatists said 27 people, including civilians, were killed and more than 200 wounded.
Baku said it would fight until the separatists surrendered.
“Illegal Armenian armed forces must raise the white flag,” Azerbaijan’s presidency said.
“Otherwise, the anti-terrorist measures will continue until the end. ”The ex-Soviet Caucasus rivals fought two wars over the mountainous territory, in the 1990s and in 2020.
The latest offensive raised fears that the unrest could destabilize the region.
As angry protesters clashed with police in Armenia’s capital Yerevan, calling on Pashinyan to resign, the country’s security council warned of large-scale unrest, vowing to take “effective measures” to maintain constitutional order.
More than 30 people were injured in the clashes, the health ministry said.
Accusing Azerbaijan of engaging in “ethnic cleansing of Karabakh Armenians”, Pashinyan said in a televised address that the Armenian army was not involved in the fighting and the situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan was “stab Armenia’s foreign ministry called on Russian peacekeepers to “take clear and unequivocal steps to stop” the fighting.
Azerbaijan justified its operation citing “systematic” shelling by Armenian-backed forces and accusing them of carrying out “reconnaissance activities” and fortifying defensive positions, accusing separatists of “a high level of combat readiness”.
