Moscow willing to mediate between Azerbaijan and Armenia, conflict causes rift in NATO
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow was willing to host the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks, a ministry statement cited him as saying.
He said Russia would continue to work both independently and together with other representatives of the Minsk group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to mediate in the conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces, which has seen the fiercest fighting since the mid-1990s in recent days.
Meanwhile, NATO allies France and Turkey traded angry recriminations on Wednesday as international tensions mounted over the fiercest clashes between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces since the mid-1990s.
Pieces of heavy artillery after Azerbaijani shelling in the streets of Stepanakert, in the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (also known as Artsakh). EPA-EFE/Vahram Baghdasaryan / PHOTOLURE
On the fourth day of fighting, Azerbaijan and the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh accused each other of shelling along the line of contact that divides them in the volatile, mountainous South Caucasus.
Dozens have been reported killed and hundreds wounded in fighting since Sunday that has spread well beyond the enclave’s boundaries, threatening to spill over into all-out war between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The re-eruption of one of the “frozen conflicts” dating back the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union has raised concerns about stability in the South Caucasus, a corridor for pipelines carrying oil and gas to world markets, and raised fears that regional powers Russia and Turkey could be drawn in.
A handout photo made available by the Armenian Foreign Ministry shows an area after fighting in Martakert of the Nagorno-Karabakh, on a border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, 30 September 2020. EPA-EFE/ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY HANDOUT
Some of Turkey’s NATO allies are increasingly alarmed by Ankara’s stance on Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region inside Turkey’s close ally Azerbaijan that is run by ethnic Armenians but is not recognised by any country as an independent republic.
Echoing remarks by President Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday Turkey would “do what is necessary” when asked whether Ankara would offer military support if Azerbaijan asked for it.
Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, later thanked Turkey for its support but said his country did not need military assistance. Fighting would cease if Armenian forces immediately “leave our lands,” he said.
Cavusoglu also said French solidarity with Armenia amounted to supporting Armenian occupation in Azerbaijan.
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country is home to many people of Armenian ancestry, hit back during a visit to Latvia. He said France was extremely concerned by “warlike messages” from Turkey “which essentially remove any of Azerbaijan’s inhibitions in reconquering Nagorno-Karabakh”.
“And that we won’t accept,” he said.
A handout photo made available by the Armenian Foreign Ministry shows parts of the crushed Armenian SU-25 fighter within the airspace at the Nagorno-Karabakh, on a border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. EPA-EFE/ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS HANDOUT HANDOUT
In Wednesday’s clashes, Armenian media said three civilians had been killed and several wounded by shelling in the town of Martakert in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s own defence ministry said it could report 23 more casualties on Wednesday as fighting continued.
One person was killed and three wounded by Armenian fire on the town of Horadiz in southern Azerbaijan, the Azeri Prosecutor’s office said, bringing the total number of Azeri civilians killed to 15 since fighting began on Sunday.
Azerbaijan said ethnic Armenian forces attempted to recover lost ground by launching counter-attacks in the direction of Madagiz, but Azeri forces repelled the attack.
