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☆ Tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians rush to flee Nagorno-Karabakh
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in the back of a truck as they arrive in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 26, 2023. The hairpin mountain road snaking out of Karabakh towards Armenia was choked with people. There were conflicting details about the toll of the blast but the ethnic Armenian authorities said at least 68 had been killed, 105 were missing and nearly 300 were injured. "The Secretary urged President Aliyev to commit to broad amnesty and allow an international observer mission into Nagorno-Karabakh," Miller said. "President Ilham Aliyev underlined that respective activities are underway to ensure the rights of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region," it said.

Persons: Irakli, GORIS, Vera Petrosyan, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Antony Blinken, Azerbaijan's Aliyev, Matthew Miller, Aliyev, Miller, Blinken, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Soviet Union, Reuters, Armenian, West, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Soviet South Caucasus, South Caucasus, Soviet, Askeran, Russia, United States, Turkey, Iran, Moscow

☆ Turkey's Erdogan to meet Azeri's Aliyev as thousands flee Karabakh
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/David Ghahramanyan Acquire Licensing RightsSept 25 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is to meet his ally Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on Monday, as thousands of ethnic Armenians began an exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan defeated the breakaway region's fighters last week. Erdogan will pay a one-day visit to Azerbaijan's autonomous Nakhchivan exclave - a strip of Azeri territory nestled between Armenia, Iran and Turkey - to discuss with Aliyev the situation in the Karabakh region, the Turkish president's office said. The Armenians of Karabakh, a territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but previously beyond its control, were forced into a ceasefire last week after a 24-hour military operation by the much-larger Azerbaijani military. Erdogan, who backed the Azeris with weaponry in the 2020 conflict, said last week he supported the aims of the Azerbaijan's latest military operation but played no part in it. The Karabakh Armenians are not accepting Azerbaijan's promise to guarantee their rights as the region is integrated.

Persons: David Ghahramanyan, Tayyip Erdogan, Ilham Aliyev, Erdogan, Aliyev, David Babayan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Lidia Kelly, Michael Perry Organizations: Residents, REUTERS, Karabakh, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Stepanakert, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan, Armenia, Iran, Turkey, Turkish, Khankendi, United States, Republic of Artsakh, Melbourne

Around 4,850 people had arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh by midday Monday, according to a statement from the Armenian government quoted by state news outlet Armenpress. Most of those fleeing Karabakh were women, children and the elderly, the deputy mayor of the Armenian town of Goris, Irina Yolyan, told Armenpress Monday. Goris lies close to the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, near the Lachin corridor – the only road connecting the enclave to Armenia. Refugees who reached Armenia told Reuters they believed the history of their breakaway state was finished. “No one is going back - that’s it,” Anna Agopyan, who reached Goris, a border town in Armenia, told the agency.

Persons: Ilham Aliyev, Irina Yolyan, Armenpress, Goris, Anna Agopyan, ” Organizations: CNN, Karabakh, Reuters, Refugees, Armenia, “ Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Baku, Stepanakert, Goris

Summary Erdogan and Aliyev hold talks in Azerbaijani exclaveBoth leaders back a land corridor via ArmeniaYerevan, in turmoil over Karabakh, opposes the ideaAliyev has threatened to create corridor by forceSept 25 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosted talks on Monday with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan at which he hinted at the prospect of creating a land corridor between their two countries via Armenia, which opposes the idea. Aliyev in 2021 threatened to create such a corridor - that would create a contiguous land bridge between close allies Turkey and Azerbaijan and deprive Armenia of a land border with Iran - "whether Armenia likes it or not." "The land link between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan (the exclave) was thus cut off," complained Aliyev. "The new target of Azerbaijan and Turkey is Syunik (a province in southern Armenia through which such a corridor would pass). "We expect a comprehensive peace agreement between the two countries (Azerbaijan and Armenia) as soon as possible and for promises to be quickly fulfilled, especially on the opening of the Zangezur (land) corridor."

Persons: Erdogan, Aliyev, Ilham Aliyev, Tayyip Erdogan, Andrew Osborn, Nailia, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Reuters, General, Azerbaijan, Thomson Locations: Armenia Yerevan, Karabakh, Armenia, Nakhchivan, Iran, Turkey, Ankara, Baku, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Azerbaijani Soviet, Armenian Soviet, Artsakh, Syunik, Russia, Yerevan, Ukraine, South Caucasus, Russian

☆ Fleeing bombs and death, Armenians recount fear and hunger
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Petya Grigoryan is one of the first ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to make it to Armenia after a lightning 24-hour Azerbaijani military operation defeated the Karabakh Armenian forces. The ethnic Armenians of Karabakh, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, say they will not live as part of Azerbaijan and that almost all of the 120,000 Armenians there will leave for Armenia. Grigoryan, a 69-year-old driver, said his Kochoghot village in what the Armenians know as the Martakert district of Karabakh was pummelled by Azerbaijan armed forces. Grigoryan and thousands of other Armenians made their way to the airport near the Karabakh capital, known as Stepanakert by Armenians and Khankendi by Azerbaijan, where some Russian peacekeepers are based. Then the Azerbaijan military shelled the Shosh village where he was staying.

Persons: Irakli, Grigoryan, Ilham Aliyev, Guy Faulconbridge, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Karabakh, Russian, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Goris, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Grigoryan, Martakert, pummelled, Khankendi, Leninakan

☆ Explainer: Why are 120,000 people about to move from Nagorno-Karabakh?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 24 (Reuters) - The 120,000 ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will leave for Armenia as they do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan and fear ethnic cleansing, the leadership of the breakaway region told Reuters on Sunday. As the Soviet Union crumbled, what is known as the First Karabakh War erupted (1988-1994) between Armenians and their Azerbaijan. If 120,000 people go down the Lachin corridor to Armenia, the small South Caucasian country could face a humanitarian crisis. It was not immediately clear where 120,000 people could be housed in Armenia, whose population is just 2.8 million, ahead of winter. Many Armenians blame Pashinyan, who lost a 2020 war to Azerbaijan over Karabakh, for losing Karabakh.

Persons: Irakli, David Babayan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Babayan, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev, Armenia's Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Russian, Armenian, International Committee, Karabakh, stoke, NATO, Thomson Locations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Republic of Artsakh, Soviet Union, AZERBAIJAN, South Caucasus, Russia, United States, Turkey, Iran, Moscow, Yerevan, Russian

LONDON (AP) — More badly needed humanitarian aid was on its way to the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh via both Azerbaijan and Armenia on Saturday. Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military in separatist fighting that ended in 1994. Armenian forces also took control of substantial territory around the Azerbaijani region. Political Cartoons View All 1176 ImagesUnder the agreement mediated by Russian peacekeeping forces, Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist authorities made sizable concessions: disbanding the region’s defense forces and withdrawing Armenia’s military contingent. Valeri Hayrapetyan from Haterk said that he and his neighbors scrambled to leave after Azerbaijani forces entered the village earlier that day.

Persons: —, ”, Elena Yeremyan, “, Valeri Hayrapetyan, Haterk, Romela Avanesyan, Jeyhun Bayramov, Ilham Aliyev, Ararat, Nikol Pashinyan, Russia’s, Aida Sultanova Organizations: Azerbaijan, Russian, RIA Novosti, “, Baku, International Committee, Russia's Defense, RIA, Russian Defense Ministry, Ararat Mirzoyan, . Security, Armenia’s, ___ Associated Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Baku, Russia, Azerbaijani, Yevlakh, Artsakh, Askeran, ”, Haterk, Caucasus, Aghdam, Stepanakert, Azerbaijan’s, Yerevan, Moscow, Armenia’s, ___

☆ Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan says it wants to "reintegrate" breakaway region. What does that mean?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Karabakh officials said their forces were outnumbered and had no choice but to surrender. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has long been explicit about the choice that confronts Karabakh officials. In a speech delivered in May, he told Karabakh Armenians they needed to “bend their necks” and accept full integration into Azerbaijan. “It’s a mess.”It is also unclear where Karabakh Armenians will travel to, if evacuations are able to begin. Azerbaijani officials met with ethnic Armenian representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh in Yevlakh, Azerbaijan, September 21, 2023.

Persons: ” Olesya, “, ”, Ilham Aliyev, Aliyev, AZA, Nikol Pashinyan, Miroslav Jenca, Siranush Sargsyan, Sargsyan, Reuters Olesya Vartanyan, Vartanyan, –, Armenia doesn’t, Farid Shafiyev, Shafiyev, Anna Ohanyan, Ohanyan, ” Ohanyan, …, Catherine the Great Organizations: CNN, Azerbaijan’s, Karabakh, Armenian, United Nations, UN, UN Security, Russian, Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, ICRC, ”, International Relations, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, gaslight Locations: Azerbaijan, Armenian, Nagorno, Karabakh, South Caucasus, Armenia, Soviet Union, Baku, Yevlakh, Stepanakert, ”, Russian, Soviet Azerbaijan, Russia, Eurasia

☆ The Nagorno-Karabakh crisis raises serious questions for Russia — and the West
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The contested mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it has been under de-facto Armenian control since the early 1990s. It follows an abrupt 24-hour offensive by Azerbaijani forces on Tuesday that swiftly broke through ethnic Armenian lines, seized strategic positions and resulted in the surrender of separatist forces. Armenia, which has typically looked to Russia as a security guarantor, said Azerbaijan's military operation was an attempt to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh, a charge Baku has denied. Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijan of violating a cease-fire agreement, with Reuters reporting gunfire could be heard in the region's capital on Thursday. Armenians attend a rally in Yerevan on September 21, 2023, following Azerbaijani military operations against Armenian separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Persons: Karen Minasyan, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Japaridze, Pashinyan, Karabakh, Kusa, Pashynian's Organizations: Government, Armenian, Afp, Getty, CNBC, Eurasia Group, Kremlin, Collective Security, Organization, NATO, Anadolu Agency, Ukrainian Institute, Russian Embassy Locations: Yerevan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Caucasus, South Caucasus, Russia, Baku, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, London

☆ Azerbaijan says it sees amnesty for Karabakh fighters who lay down arms
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via REUTERS/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsGORIS, Armenia, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan envisages an amnesty for Karabakh Armenian fighters who give up their arms, though there have been some Karabakh military units which have said they will continue their resistance, an Azeri presidential adviser told Reuters. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday said his iron fist had consigned the idea of a separate ethnic Armenian Karabakh to history and that now the region would live in "paradise" as part of Azerbaijan. Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijan's president, told Reuters in a television interview that Baku envisaged an amnesty for those Karabakh fighters who gave up their weapons. Karabakh Armenian rights would be respected as part of their integration into Azerbaijan, he said, adding that they had requested humanitarian support as well as oil and gasoline supplies. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia was prepared to accept refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Hayk, Ilham Aliyev, Hikmet Hajiyev, Hajiyev, Roman, Guy Faulconbridge, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Karabakh, Wednesday, Reuters, Soviets, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Yerevan, Armenia, Photolure, Azerbaijan, Baku, Soviet Union, Russia, West, Turkey, Armenian, Russians, Ottomans, South Caucasus, United States, Iran

Karabakh Armenian authorities accused Azerbaijan of violating a ceasefire agreed on Wednesday after a lightning Azerbaijani offensive forced the separatists to agree to disarm. When asked about giving up weapons, Babayan said his people could not be left to die, so would security guarantees first. Talks took place on Thursday in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh between Azerbaijan and representatives of the Republic of Artsakh, as the Karabakh Armenians call themselves. He said the region's ethnic Armenians would enjoy full educational, cultural and religious rights. An aide to Aliyev said Baku had given Yerevan a new draft peace agreement, Russia's RIA news agency reported.

Persons: Pashinyan, GORIS, David Babayan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Babayan, Ilham Aliyev, Melkumyan, Stringer, Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Khankendi, Gayane Sargsyan, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge, Nailia Bagirova, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Azerbaijan reclaims, Protesters, Reuters, National Assembly of, REUTERS, Karabakh, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh's, Azerbaijani, Yevlakh, Republic of Artsakh, Artsakh, Soviet Union, AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA, Caucasus, Baku, Yerevan, Russia, Moscow, Stepanakert, Goris

☆ Azerbaijan says Armenians of Karabakh arrive for meeting after ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Armenian delegation from Karabakh arrived in the town of Yevlakh for talks, Azerbaijan's presidency said. Under the ceasefire agreement, as outlined by Azerbaijan, breakaway Armenian forces must disband and disarm, and the region will be integrated as part of Azerbaijan. Aliyev said that "war criminals" had tried to poison the brains of 120,000 Karabakh Armenians, who, he said, would now live in paradise and have their religious and cultural rights respected. But thousands of Armenians massed at the airport in Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh known as Khankendi by Azeris. Known as Artsakh by Armenians, the territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, which is mainly Muslim, but its inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians, who are Christians.

Persons: Melkumyan, Stringer, Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijan's, Ramin Mammadov, Ilham Aliyev, Aliyev, Nailia Bagirova, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: National Assembly of, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Yevlakh, Azerbaijan, Rights YEREVAN, Armenian Karabakh, Stepanakert, Russians, Ottomans, Artsakh

☆ Turkey says it played no direct role in Karabakh operation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Azerbaijan mounted a lightning offensive to retake control of its breakaway Karabakh region on Tuesday. On Wednesday, NATO ally Turkey publicly threw its support behind Baku's "steps to preserve its territorial integrity" but it had been unclear whether Ankara played any active role in the 24-hour military operation. "It was Azerbaijan army's own operation, there was no direct involvement of Turkey," a Turkish defence ministry official told reporters on Thursday. The move was condemned by Azerbaijan, Turkey and Ukraine. In a phone call with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev late on Wednesday, Erdogan reiterated Turkey's "heartfelt support" of Azerbaijan, his office said.

Persons: Siranush Sargsyan, Tayyip Erdogan, Baku's, Nikol, Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev, Erdogan, Turkey's, Huseyin Hayatsever, Gareth Jones, Alex Richardson Organizations: Rights, NATO, United Nations General Assembly, Ece Toksabay, Thomson Locations: Stepanakert, Nagorno, Karabakh, Rights ANKARA, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkish, Ankara, Azerbaijani, Russian, Baku, Yerevan, New York, Ukraine

☆ Azerbaijan-Armenia: The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh explained
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Armenia and Azerbaijan have already fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh to Armenians, is a landlocked region in the Caucasus Mountains and lies within Azerbaijan’s borders. Under the Soviet Union, of which Azerbaijan and Armenia are both former members, Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region within the republic of Azerbaijan in 1923. After years of sporadic clashes between the two sides, the Second Karabakh War began in 2020. The news of fresh strikes on Nagorno-Karabakh sparked cryptic reactions from prominent Russian figures showing little sympathy for Armenia.

Persons: –, Tofik Babayev, “, Siranush Sargsyan, Nikol Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev, Aliyev, ”, Armenia’s, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Dmitry Peskov, Karen Minasyan, Vladimir Putin, Pashinyan, haven’t, Armenpress, Margarita Simonyan, Judas Organizations: CNN, Soviet Union, Karabakh, Artsakh Defense Army, Armenian Soviet, United Nations General Assembly, Kremlin, ” Analysts, Getty, Collective Security, Organization, US Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Soviet, Artsakh, Azerbaijan’s, Soviet Union, Turkey, Russia, Moscow, AFP, Azerbaijani, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, Turkish, Ottoman, Baku, Ukraine, Rome

☆ Who is Nikol Pashinyan, embattled prime minister of Armenia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addresses parliament following an escalation in hostilities over the Nagorno-Karabakh region along the border of Armenia with Azerbaijan, in Yerevan, Armenia, September 13, 2022. Tigran Mehrabyan/PAN Photo via REUTERS /File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsYEREVAN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Here are some key facts about Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who finds himself at the centre of a new crisis after Azerbaijan launched an offensive this week in the breakaway Armenian-populated territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. - Pashinyan, 48, is a former journalist who became prime minister after a wave of street protests, sometimes referred to as Armenia's Velvet Revolution, toppled his predecessor in 2018. - Pashinyan has engaged in successive rounds of talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in search of a peace agreement between two countries. - Pashinyan is likely to come under fierce domestic pressure again if Azerbaijan takes back control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Tigran Mehrabyan, Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev, Vladimir Putin, Mark Trevelyan, William Maclean Organizations: Armenian, Rights, Criminal, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Yerevan, Rights YEREVAN, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh by Armenians, is a mountainous region within Azerbaijan that is internationally recognised as part of that country. But its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians who broke away during a first war in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured seven surrounding districts and took back about a third of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. Azerbaijan has been tightening pressure on Nagorno-Karabakh for months, effectively blocking its lifeline road connection with Armenia - the "Lachin corridor". Such a deal would put Azerbaijan close to achieving all its objectives, while any further fighting could increase the risk of a bigger war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Persons: Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, Russian, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Thomson Locations: Askeran, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia, KARABAKH, Artsakh, Soviet Union, AZERBAIJAN, Moscow, Ukraine, Aghdam, Turkey, Russia, Iran, South Caucasus, Baku, United States, EU

CNN —Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh accepted a ceasefire proposal made by Russian peacekeepers Wednesday, a day after Azerbaijan launched a military operation in the disputed territory. Azerbaijan on Tuesday began what it called an “anti-terrorist” campaign against separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, which Karabakh officials said killed dozens and wounded hundreds more. Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said it had agreed to suspend its operation, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported. Taking this into consideration, the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh accept the proposal of the Russian peacekeeping contingent’s command regarding a ceasefire,” the Nagorno-Karabakh Presidential Office said, according to Armenpress. Russia’s defense ministry said it had evacuated around 2,000 civilians from Nagorno-Karabakh overnight Tuesday.

Persons: “, “ Regrettably, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, ” Pashinyan, Baku’s, Siranush Sargsyan, Armen Grigoryan, Dmitry Peskov, ” Peskov, Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev Organizations: CNN, Authorities, Russian, RIA Novosti, Karabakh, Defense Army, Army, Office, Armenian Armed Forces, Armenia doesn’t, Criminal Court, Azerbaijan, Armenia’s Security, Armenian Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s, Armenia, Russian, Yevlakh, ”, Republic, Artsakh, Armenpress, Moscow, Russia, Karabkh, Baku, Yerevan

☆ Azerbaijani leader sends Karabakh Armenians and Armenia message of cooperation and peace
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Nailia Bagirova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 20 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday offered the ethnic Armenians of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region and also neighbouring Armenia prospects of cooperation, reconciliation and joint development after his forces took control of the enclave. He said Azerbaijan had nothing against Karabakh's Armenian people - "they are our citizens" - but only against their "criminal" separatist leadership. A separatist Armenian human rights official said on Wednesday that at least 200 people had been killed and more than 400 wounded in the fighting. The Kremlin denied this, saying Russia was "not going anywhere" and would remain the guarantor of security. Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Kevin Liffey; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev, Mikhail Metzel, Aliyev, Azerbaijan's, Nailia Bagirova, Kevin Liffey, Grant McCool Organizations: Armenia's, Eurasian, Sputnik, Wednesday, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baku, Yerevan, Nagorno, Soviet Union, Stepanakert, Karabakh's, South Caucasus, Georgia, Armenian, Ukraine

☆ Azerbaijan pounds Karabakh as Russia and US call for calm
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ethnic Armenians in Karabakh said Azerbaijan had triggered a new war against the 120,000 people living in an area they consider their homeland. Armenians in Karabakh, known by Armenians as Artsakh, said fighting was continuing with varying intensity. As the Soviet Union crumbled, what is known as the First Karabakh War erupted (1988-1994) between Armenians and their Azeri neighbours. RUSSIAIn 2020, after decades of skirmishes, energy-rich Azerbaijan began a military operation which became the Second Karabakh War, swiftly breaking through Armenian defences. Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, won a resounding victory in the 44-day war, taking back parts of Karabakh.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Karabakh, Antony Blinken, Ilham Aliyev, Pashinyan, Aliyev, Blinken, Antonio Guterres, Baku's, Guy Faulconbridge, Lidia Kelly, Chris Reese, Lincoln, Gareth Jones Organizations: Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defence, Azerbaijan, Wednesday, Nagorno, Armenian, U.S, Washington, Residents, United Nations, European Union, TASS, Thomson Locations: Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Russia, U.S, Azerbaijan, YEREVAN, United States, Baku, Yerevan, Turkey, Ukraine, Soviet Union, South Caucasus, Iran, Artsakh, Russian, France, Germany, RUSSIA, Moscow, Melbourne

☆ Azerbaijani forces strike Armenian-controlled Karabakh, raising risk of new Caucasus war
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Karabakh, a mountainous area in the volatile wider South Caucasus region, is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory. Karabakh has been at the centre of two wars - the latest in 2020 - since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. The European Union, France and Germany also condemned Azerbaijan's military action, calling on it to return to talks on the future of Karabakh with Armenia. Loud and repeated shelling was audible from social media footage filmed on Tuesday in Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh, called Khankendi by Azerbaijan. Karabakh separatist authorities said 25 people had been killed, including two civilians, and 138 injured due to Baku's military action.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Hikmet Hajiyev, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Hajiyev, Nikol, Baku's, Dmitry Peskov, Blinken, Ruben Vardanyan, Vardanyan, Andrew Osborn, Mark Heinrich, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Soviet Union . U.S, European, Reuters, Armenian, . Security Council, Russian, Kremlin, TASS, Security, Thomson Locations: Khankendi, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Artsakh, Baku, Armenia, BAKU, Caucasus, Soviet, European Union, France, Germany, Stepanakert, Yerevan, Russia, South Caucasus, Ukraine, Turkey, Republic of Azerbaijan, Moscow, United States

☆ Is one of Russia’s oldest allies slipping from the Kremlin’s orbit?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“Armenia’s security architecture 99.999% was linked to Russia,” he told Italian newspaper La Repubblica earlier this month. Analysts said the effectiveness of Russia's peacekeeping presence, which began after the war in 2020, has diminished over time. “Russia failed to deliver on its promises to secure the Lachin corridor… Russia failed to deliver weapons that Armenia purchased from Russia, Russia failed to curtail Azerbaijan’s expansionist and aggressive behavior against Armenia,” said Ter-Matevosyan. But in trying to shore up its security vis-a-vis Azerbaijan, Armenia has inadvertently delivered a stinging snub to Russia. “We have to remember that Russia has a huge destructive potential in the region,” said Ter-Matevosyan, referring to Russia’s sizable military base north of Yerevan.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Nikol Pashinyan, ”, Pashinyan, Armenia’s, Tofik Babayev, Azerbaijain, Vahram, Matevosyan, Karen Minasyan, Ter, Marie Dumoulin, Azerbaijan’s, ” Dumoulin, “, Putin, Ilham Aliyev –, He’s, Aliyev, Dumoulin, Dmitry Peskov, ’ ”, Anna Ohanyan, Ohanyan, –, Will Organizations: CNN, La Repubblica, Russian Federation, Getty, American University of Armenia, Collective Security, Organization, European Council, Foreign Relations, ICC, Politico, NATO, Stonehill College, Kremlin Locations: Armenia, Soviet, Ukraine, Rome, Russia, Azerbaijan, Italian, Russian, Nagorno, Karabakh, AFP, Turkey, Yerevan, “ Armenia, Moscow, “ Russia, Baku, Pashinyan, Massachusetts, “, Belarus, Repubblica, Western

☆ Opinion: A mountaintop enclave facing genocide. And a plan to stop it
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Opinion Lara Setrakian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Local Armenian authorities have vied for independence from Azerbaijan for decades, leading to an ongoing political and military conflict. Since December, the Lachin Corridor, the main road into the mountaintop enclave, has been blocked by Azeri protesters and government forces, who stopped the normal flow of goods. Multiple monitoring groups say there is widespread food scarcity on the ground, with child and adult malnutrition setting in. Last Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, voicing US concern over what he called “the deteriorating humanitarian situation” facing Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. The fastest path would be for Azerbaijan to restore movement along the Lachin Corridor, letting in aid from the ICRC.

Persons: Lara Setrakian, Luis Moreno Ocampo’s, Tom Lantos, Lara Setrakian Heidi Gutman Nagorno, Ocampo, ”, Antony Blinken, Ilham Aliyev, Blinken, Aliyev, Cross, Mary Asatryan, “, —, KAren Minasyan, shouldn’t Organizations: Applied Policy Research Institute, Twitter, CNN, Criminal Court, Rights, Soviet Union . Local, International Committee, Reuters, Court, Justice, ICRC, Stepanakert Medical, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Institute for War, Karabakh, Facebook Locations: Yerevan, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Soviet, Russian, Mary Asatryan Azerbaijan, Baku, Aghdam, EU, Soviet Union, Nakhichevan, Syria, Sarajevo, Darfur, Russia, Turkey, Israel

REUTERS/Artem Mikryukov/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTBILISI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Hikmet Hajiev, a foreign policy advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, on Saturday denied that Baku had reached a deal with the breakaway province of Nagorno-Karabakh to simultaneously reopen roads to Azerbaijan and Armenia. Hajiev said that Azerbaijan would maintain "border and customs" control on the Lachin corridor, which links Karabakh to Armenia. He said that the road to Azerbaijan would open for aid shipments for the first time since 1988, a key demand of Baku's. In December 2022, Azerbaijani civilians began blockading the last road linking Karabakh to Armenia, causing acute shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported on Saturday that Karabakh officials had bowed to Baku's demands to reopen the long-closed road to Azerbaijan in return for lifting the blockade on the Lachin corridor.

Persons: Artem Mikryukov, Ilham Aliyev, Hajiev, Armenpress, Felix Light, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Saturday, Karabakh, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Taghavard, Nagorno, Karabakh, Rights TBILISI, Baku, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Baku's, Soviet Union, Tbilisi, Nailia

☆ Azerbaijan says Armenian forces fired on its troops
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Azerbaijan reports exchange of fire, no word of casualtiesArmenian PM calls Blinken, Macron, Scholz and RaisiAzerbaijan condemns vote in Karabakh, calls it puppet regimeSept 9 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's defence ministry said on Saturday that Armenian forces had fired on its troops overnight, and that Azerbaijan army units took "retaliatory measures". It said Armenian units opened small arms fire on Azerbaijani soldiers in Sadarak in the north of Nakhchivan, an exclave of Azerbaijan that borders Armenia, Turkey and Iran. Reuters could not independently verify the reported incident, which came against the background of rising tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent days. The government said Pashinyan told Blinken and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that tensions were rising on the border and Azerbaijan was concentrating troops around the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. In a statement, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry called the ethnic Armenian leadership of Karabakh a "puppet separatist regime" and said the vote was illegal.

Persons: Blinken, Macron, Scholz, Nikol Pashinyan, Antony Blinken, Pashinyan, Ebrahim Raisi, Ilham Aliyev, Armenpress, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Nailia Bagirova, Mark Trevelyan, Felix, Peter Graff Organizations: Raisi, Armenian, U.S, Karabakh, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan, Raisi Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Sadarak, Nakhchivan, Armenia, Turkey, Iran, France, Germany, Nagorno, Baku, State, Soviet Union, Republic of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan said on Saturday that Armenian forces had fired on its troops overnight, and that Azerbaijan army units took "retaliatory measures". Azerbaijan's foreign ministry called the ethnic Armenian leadership of Karabakh a "puppet separatist regime" and said the vote was illegal. Both Ukraine and Baku's traditional ally Turkey condemned the election, and expressed support for Azerbaijan's claim to Karabakh. In the capitals of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, residents told Reuters they feared a new war between the two countries. In Armenia's capital Yerevan, a local resident who gave his name as Hayk accused Azerbaijan of wanting to start another war.

Persons: Artem Mikryukov, Baku, Armenia's, Armenpress, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Antony Blinken, Yuri Kim, Pashinyan, Samvel Shahramanyan, Shahramanyan, Mansura Lahicova, Mark Trevelyan, Felix, Felix Light, Ros Russell, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, International Committee, Reuters, Karabakh, U.S, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Taghavard, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia TBILISI, Baku, Armenia, Askeran, Russian, Soviet Union, Yerevan, France, Germany, Iran, Georgia, U.S, Turkey, Russia, Moscow, Reuters Baku, Ukraine, Armenia's, Tbilisi

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