Armenian soldiers have been killed, tensions with Azerbaijan are rising
YEREVAN, BM, ($1= 486.68 Armenian Drams) – Three Armenian soldiers were killed and two others were injured in an outbreak of tensions along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, BulgarianMilitary.com has learned, citing its own field source. The information was further confirmed by the Armenian Ministry of Defense.
According to a press release issued by the Armenian Ministry of Defense, fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops along the border continues. The fighting is taking place in the border area of Kelbajar. According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the provocation came from the Armenian military early this morning on July 28th. Azerbaijan claims that the actions of the Azerbaijani military did not cause damage to the civilian population.
BulgarianMiliter.com has repeatedly warned that since the beginning of May this year there has been serious tension between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the border areas.
Tensions erupted in mid-May after the Azerbaijani military entered Armenian territory, justifying its actions by “delineating the new borders” that emerged after a peace deal was reached between them after the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Then, according to the Armenian Ministry of Defense, the Azerbaijani military entered 3.5 km into Armenian territory.
An Armenian news agency then reported that Armenian President Pashinyan had asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to help resolve the situation. The situation returned to normal after Putin decided to move the Russian 102nd Division stationed in the Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia to the country’s border areas.
At the end of May, however, tensions escalated again between border troops on both sides, leading to a shootout. At 3:00 am on May 27, Armenian troops entered the territory of Azerbaijan in the direction of Yuhari Ayrim, which is on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the region of Kalbajar. The Azerbaijani Ministry has confirmed that six Armenian wars have been captured in connection with this attempt to invade their territory. The Armenian Ministry of Defense also confirmed this information.
Azerbaijan claims that heavy armored vehicles and tanks of the Armenian military are blocked at the border. According to unconfirmed information spread in the Russian media, Armenian military equipment was set on fire and destroyed. Azerbaijan says control of the area is currently under the command of their army.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Azerbaijan and Armenia had conflicted for Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR.
During the armed conflict in 1992-1994, the Azerbaijani side lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven areas. Since 1992, negotiations were conducted within the OSCE Minsk Group framework on a peaceful conflict settlement. The group led by co-chairs – Russia, the USA, and France.
In 1994, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, through Russia’s mediation, signed the Bishkek Armistice Protocol. At the same time, military operations did not stop there, which periodically renewed. The most significant exacerbation of the conflict was the four-day war of 2016. Then hundreds of soldiers on both sides became victims.
During a meeting with the President of Azerbaijan last year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for rhetoric that would go against the fundamental principles endorsed by both sides and enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act when resolving the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh. Simultaneously, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry admitted that much more needs to be done to achieve a long-term political settlement.
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, 2020, active clashes are taking place in the disputed territory. Martial law introduced in Azerbaijan and Armenia and both countries announced mobilization. Both sides reported killed and wounded, including civilians. In Baku, they told the control of several Karabakh villages and strategic heights. Yerevan also says about the shelling of the territory of Armenia. After six weeks of fighting, Baku gained a significant advantage and territorial gains. A trilateral peace agreement was signed on the night of November 9-10, 2020.
It led to a ceasefire and deployed Russian peacekeepers in the region to remain there for at least five years. Armenia undertook to transfer to Azerbaijan the occupied territories in Nagorno-Karabakh and three adjacent areas. The road connecting Armenia with the separatist region’s capital, Stepanakert, is protected by Russian troops.
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