YEREVAN, Armenia-- Russia said Tuesday it had actually negotiated a ceasefire in between ex-Soviet Armenia and Azerbaijan after clashes in between the historical rivals left at least 49 Armenian troops dead.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said the battling began early Tuesday, with the Armenian cities of Goris, Sotk, and Jermuk coming under fire from Azerbaijani weapons, mortars and drones.
My family and I woke up because of the shelling when [the area] was attacked at about midnight, stated Anna, who resides in the Armenian town of Vardenis about 20 kilometers from the border with Azerbaijan and decreased to provide her surname.
We were hearing the noise of rockets.
It was very scary, she told The Moscow Times.
The deadly combating came as Yerevans closest ally Moscow-- which has countless peacekeepers in the area-- was sidetracked by its six-month intrusion of Ukraine.Russia said it had brought the clashes to a stop, with the Russian Foreign Ministry stating a ceasefire was agreed from 9:00 a.m.
Moscow time.
The circumstance is very agonizing, said Nina, a Yerevan homeowner who declined to offer her surname.
Im simply considering how to safeguard my house if they come.
Experts alerted that the Kremlins war in Ukraine has deteriorated Russia and raised the opportunities of further escalation in between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Russia is currently neither prepared nor capable of restraining Azerbaijani aggressiveness in the area, stated Tigran Grigoryan, a Yerevan-based political specialist, including that there was a local power vacuum due to the fact that of Moscows focus on Ukraine.
The battling appeared to have waned Tuesday night, following an extreme round of diplomacy, and Baku announcing that it had achieved its immediate aims.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan deals with the parliament in Yerevan on September 13, 2022primeminister.
am Provocations dedicated by Armenian forces at the border have been prevented and all needed goals were fulfilled, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyevs workplace said in a statement.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told legislators Tuesday early morning that at least 49 Armenian soldiers were killed in Azerbaijani attacks.
President Vladimir Putins representative Dmitry Peskov stated that the Kremlin was doing everything it might to solve the scenario.
Obviously, the president is making every effort to assist de-escalate tensions on the border, Peskov said.
It is challenging to overestimate the function of the Russian Federation and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called the leaders of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, with his representative stating Washington would push for an immediate halt to eliminating and a peace settlement.
But there was anger in Yerevan at what is viewed to be Russian inaction-- Russian peacekeepers were released to the region in 2020 following a bloody war in between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russia needs to take a clear position, previous Armenian lawmaker Arman Abovyan informed The Moscow Times.
The scenario is extraordinary-- the state of Azerbaijan assaulted the state of Armenia ...
it is an effort to annex the territory of Armenia.
It is not a coincidence that this has actually occurred when Russia is totally concentrated on the scenario in Ukraine, he said.
Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev consults with the military leadership in Baku on September 13, 2022president.
azBakus long-standing political and military sponsor Turkey blamed Armenia and prompted it instead to concentrate on peace negotiations.
Iran, which shares a border with both nations, urged restraint and a peaceful resolution to the fighting.The European Union, France and the United States have actually expressed concerns over the escalation and required an end to the hostilities.Before the ceasefire was announced, Armenia attracted the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Moscow-led security alliance of post-Soviet states.
For Russia, this is a difficult minute-- it will be a serious blow to the prestige of Russia and the CSTO organization to leave Armenia without help, but at the same time, Russia doesnt wish to spoil its relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey, Mikayel Zolyan, a previous Armenian legislator and political expert, told The Moscow Times.The present situation echoes 2 previous wars in the area over Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s and in 2020.
6 weeks of fighting in the autumn of 2020 claimed more than 6,500 lives and ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
On the one hand, Russia is an ally of Armenia and a member of the CSTO, however at the very same time, Azerbaijan has a number of agreements with Russia and Russia considers Azerbaijan its ally.
Plus, Russia is a mediator in the Karabakh dispute, Zolyan said.
All 3 functions are quite difficult to combine, and therefore we see that all celebrations are dissatisfied with Russia.
AFP contrinuted reporting.