UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – Azerbaijan announced on Saturday that it was carrying out “demilitarization” of forces in Nagorno-Karabakh together with Russia.
Armenia asks the UN for help
Armenia called on Saturday at the Tribune of Nations for the “immediate” deployment of a UN “mission” to Nagorno-Karabakh to monitor the situation on the ground, while Azerbaijan promised that the breakaway region’s Armenians would be treated as “equal citizens.” .
“The international community should make every effort to facilitate the immediate deployment of a UN interagency mission to Nagorno-Karabakh with the aim of monitoring and assessing the human rights, humanitarian and security situation on the ground,” he said. said Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, repeating accusations of “ethnic cleansing” in the breakaway region.
“Unfortunately, we do not have a partner for peace, but a country that openly declares ‘might makes right’ and constantly uses force to disrupt the peace process,” he added, believing that the timing of the lightning offensive was right from the start Azerbaijan’s protest this week was no “coincidence”, in the middle of the UN General Assembly.
“The message is clear: you can talk about peace and we can go to war and you won’t be able to change anything,” emphasized the minister.
Azerbaijan speaks of a “demilitarization” operation
Azerbaijan announced on Saturday, September 23, that its crackdown in Nagorno-Karabakh was a “demilitarization” operation in this secessionist region populated primarily by Armenians, where the Azerbaijani military won a lightning victory earlier in the week .
“In close cooperation with Russian peacekeepers, we are carrying out the demilitarization” of separatist troops, Azerbaijani army spokesman Anar Eyvazov told the press in the Shusha region, a city in Nagorno-Karabakh that came under the control of Azerbaijan three years before. “We have already confiscated weapons and ammunition,” he added, without giving further details.
The disarmament process “may take some time” as some separatist fighters were stationed in remote mountainous areas, Eyvazov continued. “The priority is mine clearance and demilitarization,” he emphasized.
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Azerbaijan promises to treat Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians as “equal citizens.”
Azerbaijan pledged at the United Nations on Saturday to treat the Armenian-majority population in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region as “equal citizens.”
“I would like to reiterate that Azerbaijan is determined to reintegrate the Armenian residents of the Karabakh region into Azerbaijan as equal citizens,” Foreign Minister Jeyhoun Bayramov told the United Nations General Assembly.
“The constitution, national legislation of Azerbaijan and the international commitments we have made provide a solid foundation for this goal,” he added.
US shows “concern” to Armenians
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, expressed to Armenia on Saturday Washington’s “deep concern” about the fate of the Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s takeover of that territory.
In a phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Blinken “expressed the United States’ deep concern for the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“He emphasized that the United States calls on Azerbaijan to protect civilians and respect its obligations regarding the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh and to ensure that its armed forces respect international humanitarian law,” Miller added.
Antony Blinken held three peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan to ease tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Disarmament in Nagorno-Karabakh has begun
At one of the entrances to Choucha, an AFP journalist saw a tank and a generally strong military presence. Mortars were also stationed on a nearby hill towards Stepanakert, the “capital” of Nagorno-Karabakh, which the separatists claim is surrounded by Azerbaijani troops, she also noted.
Six armored vehicles, more than 800 small arms and around 5,000 ammunition have been returned so far, said on Friday the Russian peacekeeping contingent stationed in the area, where a ceasefire was concluded on Wednesday, a day after the Azerbaijani attack broke out.
“In accordance with the agreements on the cessation of hostilities, the armed formations of Karabakh began to “hand over their weapons” under the control of Russian peacekeepers, the Russian Defense Ministry said at the time.
The talks between the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities and the Azerbaijani side, which began on Thursday “under the auspices” of the Russian intervention force, are intended to make it possible to “organize the process of withdrawal of troops and ensure the return of citizens to their homes.” driven out by military aggression,” the separatists said.
A Red Cross convoy was able to enter the region
A first convoy from the International Red Cross was also able to enter Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday since the lightning offensive, noted an AFP journalist on site. “The ICRC passed through the Lachin corridor to bring mainly 70 tons of humanitarian aid to the population,” said an International Red Cross official, whom AFP met en route at the Armenian Kornidzor checkpoint.
Un Azerbaijani soldier injured in ceasefire violation, Moscow says
An Azerbaijani soldier was injured in a ceasefire violation with Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian peacekeepers stationed in the enclave said on Saturday.
“A ceasefire violation was recorded in Mardakert district. “A soldier of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces was injured in the exchange of fire,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.