The Azerbaijani army violated the tripartite agreements on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This is reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. According to the ministry, Azerbaijan committed an act of aggression in the conflict zone, as a result of which there are dead and wounded. “Despite the steps taken by the Armenian side to achieve stability and peace in the region, Azerbaijan continues its pre-planned policy of intimidation of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, its ethnic cleansing and the creeping occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry stressed.
Russia also accused Baku of violating the ceasefire. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the situation in the zone of operation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent has aggravated due to the actions of the Azerbaijani military. “The command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, together with representatives of the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides, are taking measures to stabilize the situation,” the ministry stressed.
The Azerbaijani authorities admit that the army struck at the Armenian positions, but they blame Yerevan for the escalation of the conflict. According to the country’s Ministry of Defense, the Armenian armed forces committed a sabotage, as a result of which an Azerbaijani conscript died. In response, the Azerbaijani troops carried out the “Retribution” operation, during which they occupied several heights, and also destroyed several positions of the Armenian military. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan once again called for the disarmament of the Armenian contingent in the conflict zone.
Representatives of the European Union were worried about another escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan reports that the head of the department, Jeyhun Bayramov, has already had a telephone conversation with the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar. During the conversation, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “it was emphasized that the armed forces of Azerbaijan in their sovereign territories took adequate response measures to military provocations.” The OSCE joined the conflict, calling on the parties to take de-escalation measures.
As long as there are Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia will not dare a full-scale clash, Andrey Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, is sure. Now Baku is in a winning position and therefore is testing the current situation for strength. Azerbaijan’s goal is to change the status quo in its favor. Similar outbreaks, Kortunov is sure, will happen in the future, but they are unlikely to entail serious consequences.
On November 9, 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan, mediated by Russia, signed an agreement that ended the war in Nagorno-Karabakh that began on September 27, 2020. Under the agreement, Armenian troops were withdrawn from the region, and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic liberated a number of regions of Azerbaijan. The observance of the ceasefire and the security of the so-called Lachin corridor from Armenia to Karabakh until 2025 is monitored by Russian peacekeepers.