About 100 soldiers have been killed in border fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan as strikes on both sides Tuesday fueled worries that more extensive hostilities between the longstanding rivals may erupt.
Azerbaijan lost 50 troops, whereas Armenia claimed to have lost at least 49.
According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, the Azerbaijani forces launched an artillery barrage and drone attacks in numerous areas of Armenian territory shortly after midnight.
The ministry said that despite Russia’s efforts to quickly mediate a cease-fire, violence persisted throughout the day. Even if the amount of firing decreased, it was said that Azerbaijani soldiers were still attempting to march into Armenian territory.
According to the government, the Azerbaijani bombardment also caused undetermined casualties and structural damage to the civilian population.
According to Azerbaijan, its military opened fire in retaliation for “large-scale provocations” by Armenian forces, who it said had laid mines and shot repeatedly on Azerbaijani military positions, causing unspecified deaths and damage to military facilities.
U.S. In a phone contact with the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, overnight, Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced “grave concern” with the military activity along the border, according to a State Department readout.
Secretary Blinken underscored that the United States will work for an immediate end to combat and a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the readout said. “Secretary Blinken asked President Aliyev to stop hostilities,” it added.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a part of Azerbaijan but has been ruled by ethnic Armenian troops supported by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994, has been the source of a long-running dispute between the two countries.
In a six-week conflict in 2020 that resulted in a peace agreement negotiated by Russia, Azerbaijan regained large portions of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Moscow, which as part of the agreement sent approximately 2,000 soldiers to the area to act as peacekeepers, has made an effort to retain amicable relations with both former Soviet states.
Aliyev of Azerbaijan met with military representatives to go through the situation. His office said that the political leadership of Armenia has all responsibility for the present tense situation.
Armenia was also held accountable for the violence, according to Turkey, an ally of Azerbaijan. Mevlut Cavusoglu, the foreign minister of Turkey, demanded that Yerevan stop its “provocations,” while Hulusi Akar, the minister of defence, denounced “Armenia’s hostile attitude and provocative activities.”
The Azerbaijani assertion that it was reacting to Armenian provocations was denied by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in a speech to parliament early on Tuesday. He said that the recent meetings he held with Aliyev in Brussels under the auspices of the European Union had made clear Azerbaijan’s unyielding position.
Pashinyan pointed out that the Azerbaijani move came after his recent negotiations with Aliyev in Brussels, which were mediated by the European Union, exposed what he called Azerbaijan’s unyielding position.
In order to address the hostilities as they were happening, Pashinyan immediately phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He then spoke on the phone with Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, and Blinken.
Apparently as a result of Moscow’s efforts to broker a ceasefire, there was a 40-minute respite in the fighting, according to the governor of Gegharkunik province, one of the areas that came under Azerbaijani bombardment. However, hostilities then resumed.
The bombardment, according to the region’s governor, Karen Sarkisyan, resulted in the deaths of four Armenian forces and 43 injuries to additional soldiers.
The Armenian government announced it would formally request assistance from Russia under a friendship agreement between the two countries and also make a request to the UN and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a security alliance of former Soviet states led by Moscow and including Armenia.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, said during a conference call with reporters that Putin was “making every effort to assist de-escalate tensions” while declining to comment on Armenia’s request.
Top security officials allegedly met to discuss the fighting, according to the Armenian Foreign Ministry. Throughout the conference, the representative for Armenia in the coalition reiterated that Yerevan expects its friends to take “effective collective efforts to preserve security, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Armenia.”
Both sides were advised “to avoid from further escalation and show moderation,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Moscow has maintained tight relations with oil-rich Azerbaijan while also forging strong economic and security ties with Armenia, which is home to a Russian military station.