Heavy weekend fighting continued into Monday, with reports of at least three more Azeri soldiers killed and Nagorno-Karabakh reporting that they’ve had 20 fighters killed and 72 wounded in the past three days of fighting.
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan warned a group of foreign ambassadors today that the war could have “unpredictable and irreversible consequences, right up to a full-scale war,” cautioning that both Russia and Turkey could quickly become involved.
The UN recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, but the region has had an unrecognized, Armenia-backed government since 1994. The dispute over the territory’s ownership rages throughout the Soviet era as well, with no signs of resolution.
Turkey issued a statement about the weekend fighting expressing support for Azerbaijan, while Russia’s Foreign Ministry slammed Turkey for being “one-sided.” Russia has an existing defense treaty with Armenia, and has 5,000 troops stationed there to defend them from potential incursions.
The recent flare-up came in the wake of Azeri President Aliyev’s visit to the United States. Secretary of State John Kerry met with him, and called for an “ultimate resolution” of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Though Kerry insisted he wanted a diplomatic solution, within 48 hours fighting was raging.
