October 29, 2020
Putin calls for peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh involving Turkey
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Turkey should be among countries involved in talks to end fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, as Azerbaijan and Armenia again accused each other on Thursday of shelling civilians in and around the mountain enclave, Reuters reported Thursday.
Putin told an online Russian investment forum Thursday that "many countries, including Turkey and a host of European states" should work together to find consensus. Turkey, an ally of Azerbaijan, has demanded a greater say in talks. "The first stage is to stop the fighting, stop the killing," said Putin.
With more peace talks scheduled for Geneva this week, the European Union said an escalation in the month-old conflict was "unacceptable" and called for a lasting settlement after the collapse of three ceasefires, according to Reuters.
The latest fighting between, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces began Sept. 27 and has involved heavy artillery, rockets and drones. It is the largest escalation of hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh in the quarter-century since the war ended in 1994 when around 30,000 people were killed and a million others were displaced.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians.
Hundreds and possibly thousands of people, have been killed in a little over a month. According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,119 of their troops and 39 civilians have been killed in the clashes so far. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed at least 90 civilians and wounded 392.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that, according to Moscow’s information, the death toll from the fighting was nearing 5,000, a significantly higher number than officially reported, according to the Associated Press.
The hostilities have raged on despite international calls for peace and three attempts at establishing a cease-fire. The latest U.S.-brokered truce frayed immediately after it took effect Monday (Oct 26), just like two previous cease-fires negotiated by Russia. The warring sides have repeatedly blamed each other for violations.
Azerbaijan claims downing 2 Armenian Su-25 attack aircraft
Azerbaijan on Thursday downed two Armenian Armed Forces Su-25 attack aircraft that attempted to conduct airstrikes on positions of the Azerbaijan army in the Qubadli region, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said.
"On October 29, at about 13:18 and 13:20, two Su-25 attack aircraft of the Armenian armed forces that attempted to inflict airstrikes on the positions of the Azerbaijan Army in the Qubadli direction of the front were shot down by Azerbaijan Air Defense Units," the ministry said in a Twitter statement.
The Azerbaijani presidency also said Thursday that "under the initiative of (President) Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani side handed to Armenia the bodies of 30 troops" killed in the fighting.
Armenian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Shushan Stepanian confirmed the handover mediated by Russia and the Red Cross and added that the Armenian side was ready to return bodies of slain Azerbaijani soldiers.
Azerbaijan liberates 13 more villages from Armenian occupation: Aliyev
The Azerbaijani army liberated another 13 villages from Armenia's nearly three-decade-long occupation, the country's president Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday.
“Victorious Armed Forces of Azerbaijan have liberated from occupation Birinji Agali, Ikinji Agali, Uchunju Agali and Zerneli villages of Zengilan, Mandili village of Fuzuli, Gazanzemi, Khanabulag, Jullu, Gushchular and Garaaghaj villages of Jabrayil, Giyasli, Edilje and Gilijan villages of Gubadli. Long live Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!" Ilham Aliyev said on Twitter.
Aliyev has so far announced that over 130 villages, four cities, and several settlements as well as strategic locations have been liberated from Armenia's occupation.
In total, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory – including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions – has been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades, according to Yenisafak newspaper.
The US-mediated ceasefire also fails to hold in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday accused each other of violating a new cease-fire announced the day before in a bid to halt the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that has killed hundreds, possibly thousands, in just four weeks, the Associated Press reported from Yevran.
The truce that took effect Monday morning was agreed upon on Sunday after talks facilitated by the United States. It was a third attempt to establish a lasting cease-fire in the flare-up of a decades-old conflict and, just like the previous two, it was immediately challenged by claims of violation from both sides, the AP said.
Press secretary of the Minister of Defense of Armenia, Shushan Stepanyan said: “the regular ceasefire violation has been recorded at approximately 9.10 a.m. Azerbaijani side targeted positions located in a south-eastern direction, firing 5 artillery shells in that direction.” By Monday afternoon, “heavy battles” were taking place in the southeast of the region, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian said.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry alleged that Armenian forces fired at Azerbaijani settlements and the positions of the Azerbaijani army “along the entire front, as well as on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border." Azerbaijan also accused Armenian forces of targeting its town of Terter and the Aghjabedi region.
Azerbaijan President
Though Azerbaijan agreed to a fresh humanitarian cease-fire to exchange prisoners and bodies, Armenian forces broke the truce only minutes after it was supposed to take effect, the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Monday,
He also claimed that those who are pressing for a humanitarian cease-fire are in fact sending weapons to Armenia. "Why would anyone who wants a cease-fire send weapons?" he asked in an address to the nation.
On Armenia's supporters, President Aliyev said, "If you want to save the Armenian state, tell them to leave our lands," referring to Nagorno-Karabakh which has been occupied by Armenia for nearly 30 years. "They will go out with a word of yours."
Armenia cannot stand without economic, financial and political support from other countries, he said adding:
"Unfortunately, huge amounts of various types of weapons have been sent to Armenia over the past month. We have all the lists….Do not provide (them) weapons, and this issue will be over. On the one hand, they call for a cease-fire, on the other, weapons are being sent to them. What does this mean? We will not be silent on this."
Aliyev also announced the names of 17 villages liberated from Armenia's occupation a day earlier, along with the city of Gubadli.
Aliyev stressed that the co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group "monopolized the matter" of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding that it did not benefit Azerbaijan in any way, but favored Armenia.
The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia, and the U.S. – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail.
"Did the Minsk Group put pressure on the invader? No. Did they want to put pressure? No. I told them many times that if you want to reach a solution, impose sanctions on Armenia. You're permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC). You can solve whatever issue you want."
He pointed out that the interests of the three countries "matched" on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. "The frozen situation pleases everyone except us. It pleases Armenia before anyone else."
Turkey calls on Minsk Group to hold talks on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Meanwhile,Turkey on Monday called on the co-chairs of the Minsk Group to start a results-oriented negotiation process aiming for a permanent solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement that for the efforts of the Minsk Group to yield concrete results, it would be necessary to take into account the recent cease-fire violations by Armenia and to launch such talks in line with the U.N. Security Council resolutions on the issue and international law.
Four U.N. Security Council resolutions and two from the U.N. General Assembly as well as international organizations demand the "immediate complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces" from the occupied Azerbaijani territory.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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