Armenia-Azerbaijan battle: The ‘different’ conflict on doorstep

Around midnight of September 13, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale assault alongside Armenia’s border inflicting the most important escalation between the 2 international locations for the reason that 2020 conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

As the eyes of the world stay centered on the conflict in Ukraine, one other aggression looms within the Caucasus that largely stays missed. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of attacking its borders utilizing artillery and fight UAVs, whereas Azerbaijan, acknowledging the assault, accused Armenia of ‘provocation’ and known as the assault a counter-measure towards the ‘Armenian saboteurs’ who allegedly planted mines within the Azerbaijani territory.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in addition to the nation’s defence ministry, refuted the accusations of provocation, stating that the Azerbaijani assault on Armenia correct was unprovoked.

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The preventing took a pause following a ceasefire declared early Thursday however not earlier than killing 155 troopers from either side in simply two days. The assault adopted the concentrating on of civilian infrastructure in additional than two dozen Armenian settlements, leading to a but unclear variety of civilian casualties.

Official Yerevan additionally reported that territories, extra exactly army positions, had been captured by Azerbaijan; round 3000 civilians had been reported being displaced from their houses in Syunik and Gegharkunik areas in Eastern and Southern Armenia, respectively.

Heavy artillery fireplace being reported from Azerbaijan in direction of Armenia. pic.twitter.com/q3uNO4mJHi

— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) September 12, 2022

The preventing flared up amid Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations over the Nagorno-Karabakh battle decision and the demarcation and delimitation of the borders between the 2 South Caucasian international locations.

Almost two years after the conflict erupted on September 27, 2020 over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area, the international locations had been seen engaged in a number of army conflicts and border clashes. Still, the comparatively greater fights since then came about inside Nagorno-Karabakh. However, the continuing tensions are inside ‘Armenia Proper’, with some focused settlements on round a 2-hour drive from the capital Yerevan.

Leaders from each the international locations, Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev, met in Brussels solely two weeks in the past — on August 31 – to debate additional steps on peace talks. After two weeks of silence in regards to the outcomes of the assembly, Pashinyan lastly spoke on Tuesday, saying that they failed to realize agreements on the principle points between the international locations concerning the rights of the Armenian inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh, the ultimate standing of the breakaway area, and the opening of regional communications hyperlinks shut for the reason that collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The opening of transport hyperlinks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, connecting Armenia to Russia via Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan to its exclave Nakhichevan after which to Turkey, was stipulated by the November 9 2020 settlement, signed between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, bringing an finish to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh.

The sides, nevertheless, didn’t agree on the small print of the street since Azerbaijan saved demanding a ‘Zangezur corridor’, anticipating it to be a sovereign street below Azerbaijani jurisdiction, but each Armenia and the mediator Russia had been agency on the stage of statements about having the street below Armenian management with the safety ensured by Russian border troops.

The tripartite settlement considerably strengthened Russia’s presence within the area not solely as a mediator but additionally by the deployment of extra 2,000 troops to Nagorno-Karabakh as a part of the Russian Peacekeeping Mission. Thus, Armenia turned depending on Russia as ever for the reason that Soviet Times.

Armenia and Russia are long-term strategic allies with bilateral pacts about supporting one another in case of army aggression. Armenia can also be a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation(CSTO) — a army pact of six members, together with Armenia, Russia, Belarus and three Central Asian international locations, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Armenia requested the assistance of each Russia and CSTO, anticipating army help and a pointy response to the Azerbaijani assault. While Russia’s place is comparatively gentle, with a number of statements in regards to the want for ‘de-escalation’ and continuation of the peace talks with Russian mediation, CSTO seemed to be sending a working group to watch the state of affairs on the border in response to Armenia’s request for army help.

Amid Armenia’s strategic ally’s silence, nevertheless, a number of international locations seemed to be extra specific, condemning the Azerbaijani assault and the concentrating on of civilian infrastructure. The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, “urged” “Azerbaijan to cease the hostilities and “disengage military forces” in a phone conversation with President Aliyev on September 13.

The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price also appeared to blame Azerbaijan in his daily briefing on September 13. “The fact is, we have seen significant evidence of Azerbaijani shelling inside Armenia, significant damage to Armenian infrastructure”, Price said.

The Indian Foreign Ministry, too, called upon the “aggressor side to immediately cease hostilities”, without naming the aggressor. The statement of the Indian MEA appeared to be disappointing for Azerbaijan as the MFA representative Leyla Abdullayeva complained about the vagueness in addressing the “aggressor” side.

Russia, CSTO, the United States and the European Union have reported about sending their representatives to the region to mediate the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Iran and Georgia, Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s neighbours, expressed readiness to mediate the ceasefire, while Turkey, Azerbaijan’s close ally, expressed total support for Azerbaijan.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is set to hold a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Associated Press reported on Thursday. Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan is unlikely to attend the summit owing to the situation in the country.

(Ani Avetisyan is an Armenia-based journalist. She is currently covering Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh for OC Media.)

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— ENDS —