Armenia yesterday said that 49 of its soldiers had been killed in the worst clashes with Azerbaijan since their war two years ago, but Russia said it had convinced the historic rivals to agree to a rapid ceasefire.
After several hours of fierce border fighting overnight, Armenia appealed to world leaders for help, saying Azerbaijani forces were trying to advance on its territory.
The fighting was the worst since the end of a 2020 war between the former Soviet republics over the Nagorno-Karabakh region that left more than 6,500 people killed on both sides.
Photo: AFP / National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia / handout
It came with Yerevan’s closest ally, Moscow — which deployed thousands of peacekeepers in the region after the war — distracted by its invasion of Ukraine, but Russia said it had succeeded in bringing the clashes to a halt, with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that a ceasefire had been agreed from 9am Moscow time.
“We expect that an agreement reached as a result of Russian mediation on a ceasefire ... will be carried out in full,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that it was “extremely concerned” by the uptick in fighting.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed parliament yesterday morning after he called French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to demand “an adequate reaction” to “Azerbaijan’s aggressive acts.”
“For the moment, we have 49 [troops] killed and unfortunately it is not the final figure,” Pashinyan told lawmakers.
Azerbaijan said it had also suffered casualties in the fighting, but did not specify the number of dead.
The Armenian Ministry of Defense said the clashes started early yesterday, with Armenian territory coming under fire from artillery, mortars and drones in the direction of the cities of Goris, Sotk and Jermuk.
“The enemy is trying to advance [into Armenian territory],” it said in a statement.
However, Azerbaijan accused Armenia of “large-scale subversive acts” near the districts of Dashkesan, Kelbajar and Lachin, and said its armed forces were responding with “limited and targeted steps, neutralizing Armenian firing positions.”
Turkey, a long-standing political and military sponsor of Azerbaijan, accused Armenia of being responsible for the outbreak in fighting and urged Yerevan to negotiate.
“Armenia should cease its provocations, and focus on peace negotiations and cooperation with Azerbaijan,” Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu wrote on Twitter after a telephone call with Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov.
Pashinyan yesterday chaired an emergency session of Armenia’s security council that agreed to formally ask for military help from Moscow, which is obligated under a treaty to defend Armenia in the event of foreign invasion.
The US earlier called for an end to the fighting, with Blinken saying the US was “deeply concerned” over the situation, including “reported strikes against settlements and civilian infrastructure” in Armenia.
“As we have long made clear, there can be no military solution to the conflict,” Blinken said in a statement. “We urge an end to any military hostilities immediately.”
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