Armenia warned on Wednesday that fresh clashes with Azerbaijan could escalate into a full-scale war and called for more global attention on the situation.
“There is a clear risk,” Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan told Reuters when asked if the situation could turn into another war. “You know how fragile the situation is in our region. The situation as we just mentioned continues to escalate.”
Armenia said that the fighting started when Azerbaijan started shelling Armenian military positions. For their part, the Azeris claim they were responding to sabotage on the border and attacks on their military.
Shelling continued on Wednesday, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that 105 Armenian soldiers had been killed, while Azerbaijan reported on Tuesday that 50 of its servicemembers had died.
Later on Wednesday, Armenia said that the two sides had agreed to a ceasefire that has already taken effect. But the situation remains tense, and Russia said Tuesday that it brokered a ceasefire, which quickly fell apart.
The flare-up is the heaviest fighting in the region since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, which saw Azerbaijan make sweeping territorial gains. Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan and is governed by a self-declared republic known as Artsakh.
Armenia is a treaty ally of Russia under the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), an alliance that includes Moscow, Yerevan, and four other post-Soviet states. Azerbaijan receives heavy support from Turkey, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed the latest violence on Armenia’s “attitude” toward Azerbaijan and the 2020 ceasefire agreement.
Under conditions of the ceasefire reached in 2020, Armenia ceded territory around Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan that Yerevan previously controlled, and Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region.
Armenia wants global attention. Ir translate, US attentiin, even though the terms of the deal with Azerbaujan are clear, and guarantees by Russia and Turkey are clear. There is an elemebt of Armenian elite that cannot accept that the country is in Caucases and has to create for itself peace and stabiliry. All this brouhaha is about not wanting to alliw transit corridoir from azeri exclave ri Azerbeijan proper. Just trying to be difficult and getting US attention. With US camped in nearby Georgia, the hope of US interventiin is alive in some elites. But then it is perfectvto start it just as SCO meeting opens in Samarkand.
Paweł Wargan@pawelwargan
In 2019, the Rand Corp., the brain of US militarism, published a report with nearly six pages on how the US could stoke conflict in the Caucasus — esp. between Armenia and Azerbaijan — to help weaken Russia’s influence. Last night, Azerbaijan invaded Armenia. When does it stop?
https://twitter.com/pawelwargan/status/1569582097223897089
American President Wilson wanted to send 100,000 or more American troops to Armenia to secure peace.
Honestly Armenia would prefer attention from Russia as the US is not a trustworthy partner and would throw Armenia under the bus as they have no oil. Would not be surprised if the attack was green lighted by the US. The current PM was put in power by the US, as that is what the US does. Interferes in the internal affairs of other countries.