Armenian Prime Minister: The peace talks with Azerbaijan under Russian mediation would be inappropriate
Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, reported on Wednesday that the peace discussions with Azerbaijan under Russian mediation would be inappropriate while fighting on the separated Nagorny Karabakh region entered the fourth day.
In fact, Armenia and Azerbaijan have challenged international appeals for a ceasefire in Karabakh, which is an ethnic-Armenian region that broke away from Azerbaijan in 1990, and the two parties alleging that have caused heavy losses on opposing forces. They were in a territorial dispute for decades on Karabakh and have blamed each other for sparking violent confrontations on Sunday.
Pashinyan informed Russia’s Interfax news agency: It isn’t very appropriate to speak of a summit between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia at a time of intensive hostilities. A suitable atmosphere and conditions are needed for negotiations. He also said that Armenia at this point is not planning to ask for intervention in the conflict by a Russia-led military alliance, the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty that includes many former Soviet republics including Armenia.
In the fighting, there were 98 confirmed deaths, 81 Armenian separatists and 17 civilians on the two sides, including women and children, while Azerbaijan’s defense ministry reported that intense fighting was continuing on Wednesday, alleging that its forces have killed 2,300 separatist troops since the start of hostilities on Sunday. It also said that its troops had destroyed 130 tanks, 200 artillery units, 25 anti-aircraft units, five ammunition depots, 50 anti-tank units, 55 military vehicles as well as Armenia’s Russian-produced S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile system. The ministry declared that separatists had shelled the city of Terter, targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Otherwise, Karabakh’s defense ministry reported that Azerbaijani forces continued artillery shelling of separatist positions along Karabakh’s 180-kilometre frontline on Wednesday morning.
