Azerbaijan says it wants to disarm Armenian forces, but world powers condemn Baku and accuse it of endangering security.
Azerbaijan launched a military operation in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, demanding the complete withdrawal of Armenian forces from the mountainous area as a prerequisite for peace.
In recent weeks, Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of increasing its troops and complained about a blockade of its only land connection to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nearly three years after a brief but brutal war with Armenia over the region that left more than 6,000 people dead, fighting is raging again in the region.
The region is globally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has a majority ethnic Armenian population that escaped Baku’s control after a war in the early 1990s.
This is how the world reacts to the fighting:
Armenia
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on Russia and the United Nations to take measures to end the fighting.
“First, Russia must take steps, and second, we expect the U.N. Security Council to also take steps,” Pashinyan, whose country is part of a Moscow-led military alliance, said in televised comments.
“We must not allow certain people, certain forces to deal a blow to the Armenian state. Calls are already coming from various places to carry out a coup in Armenia.”
The Armenian Defense Ministry has denied the presence of its troops in Nagorno-Karabakh.
[Al Jazeera]
Russia
Russia, which negotiated a ceasefire in 2020 and has deployed peacekeepers to the region, has called for an end to the fighting.
“We are deeply concerned about the sharp escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news conference.
“The main thing is to prevent human losses… the main thing is to convince Yerevan and Baku to come to the negotiating table,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
European Union
The EU condemned the escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh and called on Azerbaijan to end its military activities, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
“We demand the immediate cessation of hostilities and Azerbaijan to stop current military activities,” he said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The EU condemns the military escalation in Karabakh and deplores the loss of life
We demand an immediate cessation of hostilities and call on Azerbaijan to cease current military activities
Working towards negotiated outcomes requires commitment from all sides
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 19, 2023
United Nations
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Al Jazeera the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was “very worrying.”
“It is very important that all activities cease and both parties return to a sustained dialogue to avoid further clashes,” he said.
Germany
Azerbaijan broke its promise by resorting to military action in Nagorno-Karabakh, said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“Baku’s promise to refrain from military action has been broken. “Azerbaijan must immediately stop the shelling and return to the negotiating table,” said Baerbock on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City.
United States
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold urgent talks with all sides on Tuesday to end Azerbaijan’s “outrageous” operation, an official said.
After opening a relief path on Monday, “we hoped we could adapt to the longer-term issues,” a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity, according to Reuters news agency. “That does it.” This incident is particularly egregious overnight and particularly dangerous.”
France
Paris has called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to end the crisis.
“There is no pretext that justifies such a unilateral action,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that it “threatens thousands of civilians already affected by a months-long illegal blockade that runs counter to the efforts of the international community “To achieve this.” a negotiated solution.”
Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Baku’s operation was “illegal, unjustifiable, unacceptable.”
“I would like to emphasize that we hold Azerbaijan responsible for the fate of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,” she told reporters at the UNGA in New York.
Source : www.aljazeera.com