At least 49 Armenian soldiers and an undisclosed number of Azerbaijanis were killed on Tuesday in the deadliest clash between Azerbaijan and Armenia since the 2020 war, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge calm.
Armenia and Azerbaijan blamed each other for fresh fighting that broke out overnight at various points along their border, raising fears of another major conflict in the former Soviet Union while Russia’s military is stranded in Ukraine.
Russia has peacekeepers in the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict zone as collateral for a deal that ended a six-week war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave of Upper Carabak two years ago.
Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, said Azerbaijan had bombed towns near the border, including Jermuk, Goris and Kapan, forcing him to respond. Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, said Armenian sabotage units tried to undermine Azerbaijani positions and began shooting.
THE Reuters failed to immediately verify the battlefield accounts of either side.
“It is difficult to overestimate the role of the Russian Federation, the role of Putin personally,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “The president is naturally making every effort to help ease tensions on the border.”
Ukraine and Caucasus
Russia’s war in Ukraine has undermined its status as a guarantor of security in the region, leaving room for Azerbaijan to make more claims, according to Laurence Broers, an associate member of Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia program.
Azerbaijan, which is politically and culturally linked to Turkey, has made significant territorial gains in 2020, regaining land it had lost to ethnic Armenians in a previous war in Nagorno-Karabakh 30 years earlier.
“Since February, we have also seen the collapse of Russia’s reputation as a patron of security and a provider of security in the region,” Broers said. “This created a window of opportunity for Azerbaijan, remembering that the aftermath of WWII in 2020 left unfinished business.”
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led military alliance of former Soviet states that includes Armenia but not Azerbaijan, met on Tuesday to discuss the situation. .
Turkey reiterated its support for its ally, with Defense Minister Hulusi Akar quoted by his ministry as saying Turkey “will continue to support him (Azerbaijan) in his just causes”.
“The responsibility for the provocation, clashes and losses lies with the political-military leadership of Armenia,” the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “Any actions against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan will be strongly impeded.”
border combat
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of attacking Armenian cities because it did not want to negotiate the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave that lies within Azerbaijan but is inhabited mainly by ethnic Armenians.
He said the intensity of hostilities had subsided but the Azerbaijani attacks continued.
Azerbaijan, which has accused Armenia of carrying out intelligence activities along the border and transporting weapons, said its military positions were attacked by Armenia. He said he suffered losses, but did not disclose the number of casualties.
Azerbaijani media reported that a ceasefire agreement was broken almost immediately after it was enforced on Tuesday.
Both Russia and the United States, at odds over the war in Ukraine, urged Baku and Yerevan to observe moderation.
“As we have long made clear, there can be no military solution to the conflict,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “We call for an end to any military hostilities immediately.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan “must be resolved exclusively by political and diplomatic means.”
Defense ministers of Armenia and Russia spoke on Tuesday morning and agreed to take steps to stabilize the situation at the border. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov and urged Armenia to “cease its provocations”.
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, also urged the sides to slow down the escalation. Michel met with Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev last month in Brussels for talks on normalizing ties between the countries, humanitarian issues and the prospect of a peace treaty on Nagorno-Karabakh.
EU Special Representative Toivo Klaar is expected to travel to the two countries to support efforts to contain the violence.
France will bring up the clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the UN Security Council, President Emmanuel Macron’s office said, adding that Macron continued to urge both sides to maintain a ceasefire.
Source: CNN Brasil
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