The disputed region continues to be the focus of confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan almost two years after the war between the two countries and which ended with the invasion of Azerbaijani troops over an important part of this region.
Tension has increased in recent days in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the late 1980s. The peak of the escalation was recorded on August 3, when Azerbaijani troops tried to cross the line of contact and deployed attack operations with mortars, grenade launchers and drones.
One of the antecedents of this event was recorded on July 28 and consisted of the attack on the towns of Karmir Shuka and Taghavard, located in the Martuni region. The shooting lasted for 20 minutes and the impact of the bullets affected residential areas, however, no civilian casualties were recorded.
Given this fact, the Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh, Gegham Stepanyan, assured that “the aggressive behavior of the Azerbaijani side is aimed at disrupting normal life in the communities and terrorizing the civilian population.”
Days later, the Azerbaijani Army’s offensives were directed towards the northern and northwestern border. In that direction, the troops tried to cross the line of contact and advance on the Martakert region. The Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, David Babayan, certified that the situation was under the control of the Armed Forces and urged citizens to follow the official news and not give in to provocations.
A few hours before these attacks, Armenia returned an Azerbaijani soldier who had crossed the border area in Gegharkunik province. According to the inquiries, the soldier was lost.
Currently, the Armenian side has no prisoners of war in captivity, as they were reintegrated into their country shortly after the end of the last Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020; however, there are still more than 80 Armenian soldiers detained in Baku since then.
In terms of diplomacy, on August 2, the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, had a telephone conversation with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. In their dialogue, they discussed the implementation of the tripartite agreements signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on different occasions, November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021.
In accordance with the agreement that marked the ceasefire between the parties, Armenia had to withdraw its military units from the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In fact, the process of withdrawing the Armenian Armed Forces began a few weeks ago and according to the Armenian authorities, it will end in September. This measure was described by the opposition as an attempt to leave Nagorno-Karabakh unprotected.
At present, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army guards the land and faces the claim of complete disarmament demanded by the Azerbaijani authorities. In turn, the Russian peacekeeping forces have been monitoring the region since the end of hostilities in 2020 with the mission of guaranteeing its stability.
Recent escalation of violence worries in the region
As a result of the latest attacks, two Armenian soldiers died and 19 were wounded, four of whom are in serious condition. Faced with this escalation, the president of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, convened the Security Council and signed a decree by which he declared a partial military mobilization.
A few hours later, tensions escalated in the Berdzor (Lachin) region, where the only corridor connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh extends. This road is under the intervention of the Russian peacekeeping troops, who guard the Armenian population settlements – Berdzor and Aghavno – surrounded by territories occupied by Azerbaijan in 2020.
In this context, the Azerbaijani side launched military operations in order to control the corridor. He used artillery and attempted to take up positions on the adjacent high ground. According to official information, the highway continued to function normally. Otherwise, communication between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh would have been blocked, leading to the complete isolation of the latter.
The tripartite agreement proposes the replacement of the Berdzor corridor with an alternative route within a period of three years. Thus, this area would come under the control of Azerbaijan, which, for some time now, has begun the construction of a road that would work at the end of this year.
For its part, the Government of Armenia remained silent on this issue for a long period, until Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed the replacement of the road and the eviction of the villages in the area. Faced with pressure from Azerbaijan for Armenia to do its part, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia, Gnel Sanosyan, stated that the construction of a new route on the Armenian side will be completed in the spring.
Faced with the assault on this strategic area, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the Azerbaijani side of unilaterally changing the legal regime of the Berdzor corridor.
According to the end-of-war declaration, the construction of the new highway will be decided between the parties within three years, as well as the further redeployment of Russian peacekeeping troops.
“To date there is no such plan approved in trilateral format and we call on all parties to the agreement to adhere to their commitments,” claimed the statement and stated that the reason for non-compliance with the points of the tripartite declaration revolves around arbitrary interpretations of Azerbaijan.
Russia blames Azerbaijan for violating the truce
In response to the increase in violence, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement in which it blamed Azerbaijan for violating the truce and stated that the situation had worsened in the area of responsibility of the Russian contingent. In turn, he stated that measures are being taken to stabilize the scenario together with the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides.
This tension in Nagorno-Karabakh, immersed in a global panorama with several hot spots – war in Ukraine and Russia, tension between the United States and China over Taiwan – provoked a certain reaction in the international community. In the first instance, the US State Department expressed its concern about the intense fighting and requested the immediate easing of tensions.
In turn, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), within which the Minsk Group operates, in charge of mediating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since 1992 and currently paralyzed by misunderstandings between its co-presidents, the United States , France and Russia, also expressed their concern about the tensions in the South Caucasus.
In the last few hours, the tactical-military scenario on the line of contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan has been relatively stable. Violations of the ceasefire regime have been recorded, although they did not trigger large-scale aggression. However, the tense atmosphere of the conflict still keeps the Caucasus region on edge.
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