Armenia to hold early parliamentary election in June

March 18, 2021

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia’s prime minister on Thursday set an early parliamentary election for June as he sought to defuse the country’s political crisis. The opposition, which has demanded Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation, demanded that he step down before the vote.

Armenia has been gripped by political tensions after suffering a humiliating defeat last year in an armed conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory within Azerbaijan that Armenia-backed separatists controlled for more than 25 years.

The opposition has pushed for Pashinyan’s resignation, and its supporters have been blocking government buildings and barricaded streets to press the demand. Pashinyan has refused to step down, defending a November peace deal that ended the six weeks of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh as the only way to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire region.

More than 6,000 people were killed in the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

The Russia-brokered peace deal let Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. Pashinyan has staunchly rejected the opposition’s demand to step down before the vote. The 45-year-old former journalist has retained significant public backing despite the defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh, with thousands rallying in his support to counter the opposition-led pressure for his resignation.

On Thursday, Pashinyan rejected a court ruling that challenged his decision to dismiss the country’s top military officer, a legal controversy that deepened the nation’s political crisis. The administrative court in the capital, Yerevan, ruled Wednesday that the chief of the military’s General Staff, Col. Gen. Onik Gasparyan, should stay on the job pending his appeal of the dismissal order.

A statement issued by Pashinyan’s office dismissed the court’s ruling as unlawful. Gasparyan, meanwhile, showed up at his workplace Thursday, according to his lawyer.

Armenian PM slams 'coup attempt' as political tensions rise

February 25, 2021

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia's prime minister accused top military officers on Thursday of attempting a coup after they demanded he step down, adding fuel to months of protests calling for his resignation following the country's defeat in a conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced opposition calls to step down ever since he signed a Nov. 10 peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas that had been held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century.

The opposition protests gathered pace this week, and the feud with his top military commanders has weakened Pashinyan's position, raising concerns about stability in the strategic South Caucasus region, where shipments of Azerbaijan’s Caspian crude oil pass through on their way to Western markets.

The immediate trigger for the latest tensions was Pashinyan’s decision earlier this week to oust the first deputy chief of the military's General Staff that includes the armed forces' top officers. In response, the General Staff called for Pashinyan's resignation, but he doubled down and ordered that the chief of the General Staff be dismissed.

After denouncing the military’s statement as a “coup attempt,” Pashinyan led his supporters at a rally in the capital, and he addressed them in a dramatic speech in which he said he had considered — but rejected — calls to resign.

“I became the prime minister not on my own will, but because people decided so,” he shouted to the crowd of more than 20,000 people in Republic Square. “Let people demand my resignation or shoot me in the square.”

He warned that the latest developments have led to an “explosive situation, which is fraught with unpredictable consequences.” In nearby Freedom Square, over 20,000 opposition supporters held a parallel rally, and some vowed to stay there until Pashinyan stepped down. Demonstrators paralyzed traffic all around Yerevan, chanting “Nikol, you traitor!” and “Nikol, resign!”

There were sporadic scuffles in the streets between the sides, but the rival demonstrations led by Pashinyan and his foes later in the day went on in different parts of the capital. As the evening fell, some opposition supporters built barricades on the central avenue to step up pressure on Pashinyan.

The crisis has its roots in Armenia's humiliating defeat in heavy fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh that erupted in late September and lasted 44 days. A Russia-brokered agreement ended the conflict in which the Azerbaijani army routed Armenian forces — but only after more than 6,000 people died on both sides.

Pashinyan has defended the peace deal as a painful but necessary move to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region, which lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

Despite the simmering public anger over the military defeat, Pashinyan has maneuvered to shore up his rule and the protests died down during winter. But the opposition demonstrations resumed with new vigor this week — and then came the spat with the military brass.

Pashinyan fired the deputy chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Tiran Khachatryan, earlier this week after he derided the prime minister's claim that only 10% of Russia-supplied Iskander missiles that Armenia used in the conflict exploded on impact.

The General Staff responded Thursday with a statement demanding Pashinyan's resignation and warned the government against trying to use force against the opposition demonstrators. Immediately after the statement, Pashinyan dismissed the General Staff chief, Col. Gen. Onik Gasparyan.

The order is subject to approval by the nation's largely ceremonial president, Armen Sarkissian, who hasn't endorsed it yet, prompting an angry outburst from Pashinyan. “If he doesn't sign my proposal to dismiss Gasparyan, does it mean that he joins the coup?” Pashinyan asked at the rally of his supporters. He urged the chief of the General Staff to resign voluntarily, adding that “I won’t let him lead the army against the people.”

The prime minister warned that authorities now will move more forcefully to disperse the opposition protests and arrest its participants. He bluntly rejected their demand for early parliamentary elections.

The political crisis is being watched closely, particularly in Russia and Turkey, which compete for influence in the South Caucasus region. Russia, worried about its ally plunging deeper into turmoil, voiced concern about the tensions and emphasized that Armenia must sort out its problems itself. “We are calling for calm and believe that the situation should remain in the constitutional field,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Pashinyan and called for the “preservation of calm and order in Armenia,” Peskov said. While the Kremlin emphasized stability, the Russian military didn't miss a chance to slap the Armenian leader on the wrist for debasing the Iskander missile, a state-of-the-art weapon touted by the military for its accuracy.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it was “bewildered” to hear Pashinyan's claim because the Armenian military hadn’t fired an Iskander missile during the conflict. It added that the Armenian prime minister had apparently been misled.

Armenia has relied on Moscow's financial and military support and hosts a Russian military base — ties that will keep the two nations closely allied regardless of the outcome of the political infighting.

And even though the peace deal is widely reviled in Armenia with many calling it a betrayal, it's unlikely to be revised — no matter who is in charge — following the fighting that demonstrated Azerbaijan's overwhelming military edge.

Turkey, which backed its ally Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, would relish instability that would further weaken Armenia. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country strongly condemns the coup attempt in Armenia and stands against all coup attempts anywhere in the world.

The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan urged all parties in Armenia to “exercise calm and restraint and to de-escalate tensions peacefully, without violence.” In Brussels, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano also called on rival sides to “avoid any rhetoric or actions that could lead to further escalation.”

Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov and Daria Litvinova in Moscow and Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul, Turkey, contributed.

Armenian PM faces military's demand to resign, talks of coup

February 25, 2021

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia's prime minister spoke of an attempted military coup Thursday after the military's General Staff demanded that he step down after months of protests sparked by the nation's defeat in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.

The General Staff issued a statement calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which was signed by top military officers. The move was triggered by Pashinyan's decision earlier this week to oust the first deputy chief of the General Staff.

Pashinyan described the military's statement as a “military coup attempt” and ordered the firing of the General Staff's chief. He urged the military to only listen to his orders and called on his supporters to come to the streets to back him.

Meanwhile, throngs of opposition demonstrators swarmed the streets of the Armenian capital, chanting “Nikol, you traitor!” and “Nikol, resign!” Opposition supporters blocked the streets around Yerevan, paralyzing traffic all around the capital.

The quick-paced developments came after Armenia saw a spike in demonstrations this week demanding that Pashinyan step down. Protests calling for Pashinyan's resignation began immediately after he signed the Nov. 10 peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. The Russia-brokered agreement ended 44 days of fierce fighting in which the Azerbaijani army routed Armenian forces.

Pashinyan has defended the peace deal as a painful but necessary move to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

Heavy fighting that erupted in late September marked the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, killing more than 6,000 people on both sides. Despite the simmering public anger over the military defeat, Pashinyan has maneuvered to shore up his rule and the protests died down amid the winter's cold. But the opposition demonstrations resumed with new vigor this week, and the spat between Pashinyan and the top military commanders has weakened his position.

Pashinyan fired the deputy chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Tiran Khachatryan, earlier this week after he derided the prime minister's claim that just 10% of Russia-supplied Iskander missiles that Armenia used in the conflict exploded on impact.

The General Staff responded Thursday with a statement demanding Pashinyan's resignation and warned the government against trying to use force against the opposition demonstrators. Immediately after the statement, Pashinyan fired the General Staff chief, Col. Gen. Onik Gasparyan.

Armenia's prime minister offers to discuss early election

December 25, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia's prime minister said Friday he was ready to discuss the possibility of holding an early parliamentary election, but rejected opposition demands to step down over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.

Opposition supporters have rallied for weeks, urging Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to step down over the Nov. 10 peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. The Russia-brokered agreement ended 44 days of fierce fighting in which the Azerbaijani army routed Armenian forces.

Pashinyan has defended the peace deal as a painful but necessary move to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region. He argued Friday that his critics lack broad public support for their demand.

“I'm not clinging to the prime minister's seat, but I can't carelessly treat the post given to me by the people,” he said on Facebook. Pashinyan added that he was ready to hold consultations with the nation's political parties to discuss calling an early parliamentary election next year.

Opposition supporters on Friday continued blocking streets in the Armenian capital and engaged in occasional scuffles with police. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

Heavy fighting that erupted in late September marked the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, killing more than 5,600 people on both sides. The Russia-brokered peace agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control of some areas it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. Azerbaijan also retained control over areas of Nagorno-Karabakh it had taken during the conflict.

The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, and triggered outrage and mass protests in Armenia.

Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov contributed to this report from Moscow.

Thousands protest in Armenia, demand PM's resignation

December 22, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Opposition supporters in Armenia on Tuesday ramped up the pressure on the prime minister to resign over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, setting up a protest tent camp on the capital's main square.

Opposition politicians and their supporters have been demanding that Nikol Pashinyan step down over the Nov. 10 peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. The Russia-brokered agreement ended 44 days of fierce fighting in which the Azerbaijani army routed Armenian forces.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators swarmed government buildings in Yerevan, chanting “Nikol, go away!” Several hours into the rally, opposition supporters erected tents on Yerevan's main square. “We have pitched the tents and intend to stay as long as possible, including overnight. Pashinyan needs to resign,” Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a member of the opposition Dashnaktsutyun party, was quoted by the Russian state news agency Tass as saying.

In several other parts of Armenia, local officials have joined the call for Pashinyan to resign and protesters were reported to have blocked several major roads. On Monday, Pashinyan was forced to cut short his trip to the southern Syunik province after a local mayor urged residents to deny entrance to his motorcade. Police arrested the mayor of Goris, but a court in Yerevan ruled Tuesday to release him from custody.

As protests spread, hundreds of lawyers joined the demonstrations in Yerevan on Tuesday to push for Pashinyan's resignation. The opposition also called on Pashinyan's My Step coalition, which currently has the majority of seats in the parliament, to sit down for talks on Tuesday. My Step so far has not commented on the proposal.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

Hostilities flared up in late September and the Azerbaijani military pushed deep into Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas in six weeks of fighting involving heavy artillery and drones that left more than 5,600 people dead on both sides.

The Russian-brokered peace agreement obliged Armenian forces to surrender large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and hand over the territories around the separatist region they had controlled for more than a quarter-century.

The peace deal was hailed in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets. Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Associated Press writer Daria Litvinova and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

Armenia honors Nagorno-Karabakh dead; some demand PM resign

December 19, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Both opponents and supporters of Armenia's prime minister rallied Saturday as the nation paid tribute to the thousands who died in fighting with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Critics demanded that the leader resign and tried to pelt him with eggs.

The Azerbaijani army pushed deep into Nagorno-Karabakh in six weeks of hostilities that ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal on Nov. 10 that saw Azerbaijan reclaim large parts of the separatist region and surrounding territories.

The loss of lands that had been controlled by ethnic Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century has traumatized Armenians, triggering weeks of protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

On Saturday, thousands of protesters rallied near the Yerablur military memorial cemetery on the outskirts of the Armenian capital of Yerevan as Pashinyan visited it to honor the soldiers killed in the latest fighting. The nation is observing a three-day mourning period for the dead.

The prime minister's opponents, shouting “Nikol, you traitor!,” engaged in scuffles with his supporters and police. Police dispersed the protesters to clear the way for Pashinyan and his security guards covered him with shields and umbrellas as protesters attempted to hit him with eggs.

Later in the day, about 20,000 opposition supporters marched across Yerevan for a memorial church service for the victims of the conflict. Also on Saturday, 14 retired military generals issued a statement calling for the resignation of the government over its handling of the latest fighting.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

In 44 days of fighting that began in late September and left more than 5,600 people killed on both sides, the Azerbaijani army fought its way deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept last month’s peace deal.

Russia has deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace agreement and facilitate the return of refugees.

Armenians, Azerbaijan trade blame over breach of peace deal

December 12, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenian officials and Azerbaijan on Saturday accused each other of breaching a peace deal that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan's leader threatened to crush Armenian forces with an “iron fist.”

The new clashes mark the first significant breach of the peace deal brokered by Russia on Nov. 10 that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over broad swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding lands which were held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century.

Separatist officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said the Azerbaijani military launched an attack late Friday that left three local ethnic Armenian servicemen wounded. Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region to monitor the peace deal reported a violation of the cease-fire in the Gadrut region on Friday. The report issued Saturday by the Russian Defense Ministry didn't assign blame.

Later in the day, the Armenian Defense Ministry also charged that the Azerbaijani army mounted an attack in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reacted on Saturday by blaming Armenia for the new clashes and threatened to "break its head with an iron fist.”

“Armenia shouldn't try to start it all over again,” Aliyev said during a meeting with top diplomats from the United States and France who have tried to mediate the decades-old conflict. ”It must be very cautious and not plan any military action. This time, we will fully destroy them. It mustn't be a secret to anyone."

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said in a statement late Saturday that its forces thwarted Armenian “provocations” and restored the cease-fire. Armenian officials said the fighting raged near the villages of Hin Tager and Khtsaberd, the only settlements in the Gadrut region that are still controlled by Armenian forces. They noted that the two villages have been fully encircled by the Azerbaijani army, which controls the only road leading to them.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

In 44 days of fighting that began in late September and left more than 5,600 people killed on both sides, the Azerbaijani army pushed deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept last month's peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region along with surrounding areas. Russia deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace deal and to facilitate the return of refugees.

Azerbaijan marked its victory with a military parade on Thursday that was attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and involved more than 3,000 troops, dozens of military vehicles, and a flyby of combat aircraft.

The peace deal was a major shock for Armenians, triggering protests calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Pashinyan, who has refused to step down. He described the peace agreement as a bitter but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from taking over all of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, and Aida Sultanova in London, contributed to this report.

Azerbaijani leader: Cease-fire may improve Armenia relations

November 21, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — The president of Azerbaijan said Saturday he hopes the ceasefire that ended a six-week war with Armenia this month will lead to improving relations between the countries. President Ilham Aliyev made the statement as a high-level Russian delegation visited Azerbaijani's capital, Baku. The delegation, which included Russia's foreign and defense ministers, also visited the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

Russia negotiated the ceasefire signed last week, under which Azerbaijan is to regain sizeable areas of land that had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since a previous war in the early 1990s. The agreement is backed by the presence of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers.

“I hope that today’s ceasefire and our further plans to normalize relations with Armenia, if perceived positively by the Armenian side, can create a new situation in the region, a situation of cooperation, a situation of strengthening stability and security," Aliyev said.

The two countries do not have diplomatic relations, and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border has been closed since the war over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh that ended in 1994 with Armenian forces in control of the region and large swaths of adjacent territory.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Aliyev favors unblocking the “vital trade routes” in the region. Russia and Azerbaijan also agree on the need to create conditions for ethnic conciliation in the region, Lavrov said.

Animosity between Christian Armenians and Muslim Azerbaijanis is strong. Many Armenians leaving the territories that Azerbaijan is taking over set their houses on fire rather than allow Azerbaijanis to use them.

Azerbaijan has been angered to discover the wholescale ruination of towns that came under Armenian control in the 1990s war. In Yerevan, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said his country's peacekeepers were in control of the road that connects Nagorno-Karabakh's capital with Armenia and that they are ensuring the return of people who fled the capital during the recent fighting.

Azerbaijani leader hails handover of region ceded by Armenia

November 20, 2020

AGHDAM, Azerbaijan (AP) — Azerbaijani forces entered the war-ravaged ghost town of Aghdam on Friday, regaining a once-beloved city over a quarter of a century after being driven out by Armenian forces.

Aghdam and the surrounding region of the same name are the first of several territories adjacent to separatist Nagorno-Karabakh to be turned over under a ceasefire that ended six weeks of intense fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“Today, with a feeling of endless pride, I am informing my people about the liberation of Aghdam,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an address to the nation. “Aghdam is ours!” Crowds of people carrying national flags gathered in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to celebrate the handover.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

Heavy fighting that flared up Sept. 27 marked the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between the two ex-Soviet nations in over a quarter-century, killing hundreds of people and possibly thousands more.

Aliyev called the takeover of the region a “great political success" that wouldn't have been possible without military gains. “Azerbaijan was able to achieve what it wanted on the political arena after having won a brilliant victory on the battlefield,” the president said.

The agreement, celebrated as a victory in Azerbaijan, has left many Armenians bitter. Mass protests erupted in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, immediately after the peace deal was announced last week, and many ethnic Armenians have been leaving the territories that are to be handed over to Azerbaijan, setting their houses on fire in a bitter farewell gesture.

Although regaining Aghdam is a triumph for Azerbaijan, the joy of returning is seared with grief and anger as Azerbaijanis confront its devastation. The city of Aghdam was once home to 50,000, known for its white homes and an elaborate three-story teahouse, but it is so ruined that it’s sometimes called the “Hiroshima of the Caucasus.”

After the population was driven out in 1993 by fighting, they were followed by Armenian pillagers who stripped the city bare, seeking both booty and construction materials. One of the city’s happier eccentricities, the bread museum, is in ruins. The cognac factory is gone.

Today, the only structurally whole building is the mosque; from the top of the elaborately patterned minarets, the view is of a vast expanse of jagged concrete and houses reduced to shells, all encroached upon by a quarter-century’s growth of vegetation.

Under Armenian control, the mosque was used for years as a stable for cattle and swine, a defilement that deeply angered Azerbaijnis. The livestock are gone now, but the mosque is decrepit. A few soldiers and a Muslim cleric held prayers within its graffiti-scarred and flaking walls on Friday.

“Now a new period begins for Aghdam," Aliyev said. “We have big plans.” Aliyev said his government is aiming to restore Aghdam and the other territories after the areas have been cleared of mines. “The Armenians believed that after this destruction, the Azerbaijani population would never return to these lands. They were wrong. They do not know that in the heart of the Azerbaijani people — in the soul of our people, native lands live and will live forever,” he said.

Aghdam was a place many Azerbaijanis felt a special affection for, not least because of its status as the breeding center for the speedy Karabakh horse which is considered the national animal. Another bitter yet proud memory of Aghdam also remains — it was the home of the first victims of the region’s descent into chaos.

In February 1988, two days after the Nagorno-Karabakh parliament petitioned to link the autonomous region with Soviet Armenia, a group of angry men set off from Aghdam to the regional capital Stepanakert. Before they got there, they were confronted by police and ethnic Armenian villagers; two of the protesters were shot to death.

News of their deaths sparked rage in Aghdam and a crowd gathered weapons to begin to head to Stepanakert. But a local woman stood on the roof of a vehicle and threw her scarf in the road — a gesture that by local tradition forbade men from going further. The dramatic incident was memorialized by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, the Soviet Union’s most renowned poet, who called her action “almost crazy/the great insanity of kindness/the only wisdom that saves us.”

In marked contrast to the thorough destruction of the city of Aghdam, ethnic Armenians have taken assiduous care of one of their major historical sites in the province. The foundations of Tigranakert, which dates back more than 2,000 years, have undergone archaeological excavation and some of what has been found has been placed in an 18th century fortress.

As the Aghdam handover approached, workers this week labored to remove some of the artifacts including a carved stone, which required the efforts of several men to lift. “These artifacts belong to this city and we are taking these artifacts out to take to our museum so that our Azerbaijani brothers don’t get them," said one of the workers, who gave his name only as Arman. "Because they will deface them to the very last pebble.”

Associated Press writers Jim Heintz and Daria Litvinova in Moscow and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.

Azerbaijani army enters territory ceded by Armenian forces

November 20, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Units of the Azerbaijani army have entered the Aghdam region, a territory ceded by Armenian forces in a cease-fire agreement that ended six weeks of heavy fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Friday.

The truce, brokered by Russia last week, stipulated that Armenia hand over control of some areas its holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders to Azerbaijan. The first one, Aghdam, is to be turned over on Friday.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

Heavy fighting that flared up Sept. 27 marked the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between the two ex-Soviet nations in over a quarter-century, killing hundreds and possibly thousands of people.

The truce last week halted the violence after several failed attempts to establish a lasting cease-fire. It was celebrated as a victory in Azerbaijan, but sparked mass protests in Armenia, with thousands regularly taking to the streets to demand the ouster of the country's prime minister.

Armenia raises Nagorno-Karabakh conflict troop toll to 2,425

November 18, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia's prime minister presented a 15-point “road map” Wednesday aimed at “ensuring democratic stability” in what appeared to be a bid to resolve a political crisis over a truce he signed with Azerbaijan to halt the fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A Russia-brokered cease-fire halted fighting that killed hundreds, possibly thousands, in six weeks, but it stipulated that Armenia turn over control of some areas its holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders to Azerbaijan and angered many Armenians.

Thousands of people have regularly protested in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's ouster. Pashinian brushed off calls to quit, but two of his ministers resigned this week amid the unrest, and Armenian President Armen Sarkissian called for a snap election.

About 7,000 protesters gathered Wednesday in the capital's Freedom Square. Separately, Pashinian made a brief speech to a rally of about 3,000 supporters, most of them dressed in military gear. “I promise I will not betray the people,” he said.

Health Minister Arsen Torosian said a new tally showed that 2,425 Armenian forces died in the recent conflict, about 1,000 more than previously reported. Azerbaijan has not revealed its number of military casualties.

In a Facebook statement presenting his "road map" for “ensuring democratic stability in Armenia,” Pashinian once again said that he considers himself “responsible for the situation." “I also bear the responsibility for overcoming the situation and ensuring stability and security in the country,” the prime minister said, adding that he was “fully engaged in this work.”

Pashinian's plan calls for resuming the negotiation process over Nagorno-Karabakh under the auspices of the Minsk Group, which was set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the 1990s to mediate the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The prime minister's “road map” also envisions returning Nagorno-Karabakh residents who fled the region to their homes, restoring damaged infrastructure in areas that remain under the control of Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist authorities, and helping wounded soldiers and the families of those who were killed in the fighting.

Pashinian promised reforms of Armenia's military and changes to the country's election regulations, as well as to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and to restore economic activity in his country. “In June 2021, I will present a report on the implementation of the 'road map', and the decision on further actions will be made with the people's opinion and reaction taken into account,” Pashinian assured.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The fighting that erupted late September marked the biggest escalation of a decades-old conflict between the two ex-Soviet nations in over a quarter century.

Armenian FM resigns amid turmoil over Nagorno-Karabakh truce

November 16, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia's foreign minister resigned Monday amid political turmoil that has engulfed the country following a cease-fire deal for the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh that calls for ceding territory to longtime adversary Azerbaijan.

The Moscow-brokered truce halted fighting that killed hundreds — and possibly thousands — in six weeks, but it stipulated that Armenia turn over control of some areas its holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders to Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

The agreement was celebrated in Azerbaijan but sparked mass protests in Armenia, with thousands taking to the streets and demanding that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian step down and the deal invalidated.

The resignation of Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan was announced Monday by his spokeswoman, Anna Nagdhalyan. She posted his handwritten resignation letter on Facebook shortly after Pashinian said in parliament he decided to dismiss Mnatsakanyan. On Monday evening, President Armen Sarkissian signed a decree relieving Mnatsakanyan of his duties.

Earlier Monday, the ministry publicly disagreed with Pashinian over the course of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks. Pashinian said during an online news conference that there had been offers to cede to Azerbaijan regions that Armenia controlled around Nagorno-Karabakh and the city of Shusha, which is located near the territory's capital of Stepanakert.

Naghdalyan retorted on Facebook that giving up Shusha was never on the agenda “at any stage” of the peace negotiations. The exchange and the ensuing resignation of Mnatsakanyan, who has held the post since 2018, could indicate that the political crisis in Armenia is deepening. It comes as 17 opposition parties and their supporters continue to demand Pashinian's ouster, with thousands of people regularly taking to the streets of the capital of Yerevan.

Crowds gathered Monday for another rally, and in the evening, Sarkissian turned up the pressure on Pashinian, saying in an address to the nation that holding early elections is “inevitable.” Sarkissian said he has been meeting with members of various political and social groups, and “the vast majority” of those he met with agree on one thing — “the resignation of the prime minister in accordance with the Constitution or the termination of his powers, and holding early parliamentary elections.”

But to hold a vote of no confidence, opposition lawmakers need to shore up support in Pashinian’s My Step faction, which holds an overwhelming majority in the 132-seat parliament. Sarkissian called on the government and the ruling political force to “assess their potential” and put together a road map for “constitutional processes” that would allow for an early election. Before that can happen, he added, “the running of the country would be handed over to a highly professional government of national accord.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades. Heavy fighting that flared up Sept. 27 marked the biggest escalation in over a quarter-century, killing hundreds and possibly thousands of people.

The truce last week halted the violence after several failed attempts to establish a lasting cease-fire and came two days after Azerbaijan, which had made significant advances, announced it had seized Shusha.

Russian peacekeepers have started to move into the region — a total of 1,960 of them are to be sent in under a five-year mandate. Russia's Defense Ministry reported that the peacekeepers accompanied about 1,200 people returning to Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia since Saturday.

At the same time, many ethnic Armenians have been leaving territory that will be handed over to Azerbaijan, with some setting their houses on fire in a bitter farewell and digging up the graves of their relatives in order to rebury the remains in Armenia.

Associated Press writer Daria Litvinova in Moscow contributed.

Azerbaijan delays takeover, denounces fleeing Armenians

November 15, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Azerbaijan on Sunday postponed taking control of a territory ceded by Armenian forces in a cease-fire agreement, but denounced civilians leaving the area for burning houses and committing what it called “ecological terror.”

The cease-fire ended six weeks of intense fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and territories outside its formal borders that had been under the control of Armenian forces since 1994. The agreement calls for Azerbaijan to take control of the outlying territories. The first, Kelbajar, was to be turned over on Sunday.

But Azerbaijan agreed to delay the takeover until Nov. 25 after a request from Armenia. Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said worsening weather conditions made the withdrawal of Armenian forces and civilians difficult along the single road through mountainous territory that connects Kelbajar with Armenia.

After the agreement was announced early Tuesday, many distraught residents preparing to evacuate set their houses ablaze to make them unusable to Azerbaijanis who would move in. “Armenians are damaging the environment and civilian objects. Environmental damage, ecological terror must be prevented,” Hajiyev said.

Prior to a separatist war that ended in 1994, Kelbajar was populated almost exclusively by Azerbaijanis. But the territory then came under Armenian control and Armenians moved in. Azerbaijan deemed their presence illegal.

“The placement and settlement of the Armenian population in the occupied territory of the Kelbajar region was illegal ... All illegal settlements there must be evicted,” Hajiyev said. The imminent renewal of Azerbaijani control raised wide concerns about the fate of Armenian cultural and religious sites, particularly Dadivank, a noted Armenian Apostolic Church monastery that dates back to the ninth century.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev assured Russian President Vladimir Putin, who negotiated the cease-fire and is sending about 2,000 peacekeeping troops, that Christian churches would be protected. "Christians of Azerbaijan will have access to these churches,” Aliyev's office said in statement Sunday.

Azerbaijan is about 95% Muslim and Armenia is overwhelmingly Christian. Azerbaijan accuses Armenians of desecrating Muslim sites during their decades of control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories, including housing livestock in mosques.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry on Sunday denounced vandalization of the Ghazanchetsots cathedral in the Azerbaijan-held city of Shusha as “outrageous.” The Armenian Apostolic Church earlier said vandals defaced walls of the church after Azerbaijani forces took the city.

Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomous republic of Azerbaijan during the Soviet period. A movement to join with Armenia arose in the late Soviet years and after the Soviet Union collapsed, a war erupted in which an estimated 30,000 died and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced.

Sporadic clashes erupted after the war ended in 1994 and international mediators unsuccessfully sought for a resolution of the dispute. Full-scale fighting flared anew on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan made significant advances and a week ago announced that it had seized the strategically critical city of Shusha. The cease-fire agreement came two days later.

Armenia says 1,434 servicemen died in this year's fighting, but civilian casualties are unclear. Azerbaijan hasn't stated its losses. The cease-fire agreement and cession of territories was a strong blow to Armenia and prompted protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

On Saturday, Artur Vanetsyan, the leader of a small center-right party who formerly headed the national security service, was arrested on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Pashinian. He was released from custody Sunday and it was unclear if the charges against him would stand.

The agreement also dismayed many Armenians who had hoped for Russian support in the conflict. Russia and Armenia are part of a defense alliance and Russia has a large military base in Armenia. “Our nation has lost everything, our heritage, everything. We have nothing left. I can’t say anything. I’m only begging Russian people to help us, so that at least others can have a better life in our own land," said Seda Gabrilyan, a weeping mourner at the Sunday burial of a Nagorno-Karabakh soldier in Stepanakert, the regional capital.

Aida Sultanova in London, Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, and Kostya Manenkov in Stepanakert, contributed to this report.

Armenians torch their homes on land ceded to Azerbaijan

November 15, 2020

KALBAJAR, Azerbaijan (AP) — In a bitter farewell to his home of 21 years, Garo Dadevusyan wrenched off its metal roof and prepared to set the stone house on fire. Thick smoke poured from houses that his neighbors had already torched before fleeing this ethnic Armenian village about to come under Azerbaijani control.

The village is to be turned over to Azerbaijan on Sunday as part of territorial concessions in an agreement to end six weeks of intense fighting with Armenian forces. The move gripped its 600 people with fear and anger so deep that they destroyed the homes they once loved.

The settlement — called Karvachar in Armenian — is legally part of Azerbaijan, but it has been under the control of ethnic Armenians since the 1994 end of a war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. That war left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

After years in which sporadic clashes broke out between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, full-scale fighting began in late September this year. Azerbaijan made relentless military advances, culminating in the seizure of the city of Shusha, a strategically key city and one of strong emotional significance as a longtime center of Azeri culture.

Two days after Azerbaijan announced it had taken Shusha, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a Russia-brokered cease-fire under which territory that Armenia occupies outside the formal borders of Nagorno-Karabakh will be gradually ceded.

Muslim Azeris and Christian Armenians once lived together in these regions, however uneasily. Although the cease-fire ends the fighting, it aggravates ethnic animosity. “In the end, we will blow it up or set it on fire, in order not to leave anything to Muslims,” Dadevusyan said of his house.

He spoke while taking a rest from salvaging what he could from the home, including metal roof panels, and piling it onto an old flatbed truck. The truck's final destination was unclear. “We are homeless now, do not know where to go and where to live. Do not know where to live. It is very hard," Dadevusyan's wife, Lusine, said, choked by tears the couple gave the interior of the house a last look.

Dadevusyan's dismay extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Armenia and Russia keep close relations and Russia has a sizeable military base in Armenia, so many Armenians had hoped for support from Moscow. Instead, Russia facilitated the cease-fire and territorial concessions and is sending in nearly 2,000 peacekeepers to enforce it.

"Why has Putin abandoned us?” Dadevusyan said. On Saturday, kilometers-long (miles-long) columns of cars and trucks carrying fleeing residents jammed the road to Armenia. Scores of local people flocked to Dadivank, an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery dating to the 9th century, as priests removed sacred items to be taken away. Many of the visitors took photos of themselves at the site nestled in the mountains near Karvachar, suggesting they did not expect to see it again.

A small group of Russian peacekeepers watched from across the road, some sitting on their armored vehicles. The monastery's abbot, the Rev. Hovhannes Ter-Hovhannisyan, walked over to greet them. “It's very important to us that the Russian peacekeepers came today in order to preserve peace, because not all the questions of our future have been resolved,” he said. “But I am sure that justice will triumph.”

Hundreds of thousands of Azeris were displaced by the war that ended in 1994. It is unclear when any civilians might try to settle in Karvachar — which will now be known by its Azeri name Kalbajar — or elsewhere.

Any returns could be wrenching. Settlers will confront the burned, empty shells of houses — or worse. Agdam, which is to be turned over next week, once was a city of about 40,000, but now is an empty sprawl of buildings that were destroyed in the first war or later ruined by pillagers grabbing building materials.

Returning also is potentially dangerous because of the remnants of war. The Azerbaijani general prosecutor’s office said one man was killed and another injured Saturday when they triggered a mine left over from the fighting in Fizuli, an area now under Azerbaijani control.

For the Dadevusyans, their sudden relocation is overwhelming beyond words. “When you spent 21 years here and now need to leave it...,” Garo Dadevusyan said, trailing off, as smoke from nearby burning houses choked the air. Soon, he knew, his house would be one of them.

Jim Heintz in Moscow and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this story.

Armenia, Azerbaijan agree to end fight in Nagorno-Karabakh

November 10, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan announced an agreement early Tuesday to halt fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan under a pact signed with Russia that calls for deployment of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers and territorial concessions.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a 1994 truce ended a separatist war in which an estimated 30,000 people died. Sporadic clashes occurred since then, and full-scale fighting began on Sept. 27.

Several cease-fires had been called but were almost immediately violated. However, the agreement announced early Tuesday appeared more likely to take hold because Azerbaijan has made significant advances, including taking control of the strategically key city of Shushi on Sunday.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Facebook that calling an end to the fight was “extremely painful for me personally and for our people.” Soon after the announcement, thousands of people streamed to the main square in the Armenian capital Yerevan to protest the agreement, many shouting, “We won't give up our land!” Some of them broke into the main government building, saying they were searching for Pashinian, who apparently had already departed..

The agreement calls for Armenian forces to turn over control of some areas it held outside the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the eastern district of Agdam. That area carries strong symbolic weight for Azerbaijan because its main city, also called Agdam, was thoroughly pillaged, and the only building remaining intact is the city's mosque.

Armenians will also turn over the Lachin region, which holds the main road leading from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The agreement calls for the road, the so-called Lachin Corridor, to remain open and be protected by Russian peacekeepers.

In all, 1,960 Russian peacekeepers are to be deployed in the region under a five-year mandate. The agreement also calls for transport links to be established through Armenia linking Azerbaijan and its western exclave of Nakhcivan, which is surrounded by Armenia, Iran and Turkey.

Azerbaijani forces on Monday shot down a Russian helicopter that was flying over Armenia near the border with Nakhchivan, killing two servicemen. Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said the helicopter was flying low and "in the context of these factors and in light of the tense situation in the region and increased combat readiness in connection with possible provocations of the Armenian side, the duty combat crew decided to open fire to kill.”

The seizure of Shushi, which Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claimed Sunday and was confirmed by Nagorno-Karabakh's presidential spokesman Monday, gave Azerbaijan a significant strategic advantage. The city is positioned on heights overlooking the regional capital of Stepanakert, 10 kilometers (six miles) to the north.

“Unfortunately, we are forced to admit that a series of failures still haunt us, and the city of Shushi is completely out of our control,” Vagram Pogosian, a spokesman for the president of the government in Nagorno-Karabakh, said in a statement on Facebook. “The enemy is on the outskirts of Stepanakert.”

Since the 1994 end of the previous war, international mediation efforts by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's “Minsk Group” to determine the region’s final status faltered and the region was separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by a demilitarized zone.

Aliyev on Monday urged U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to intensify mediation efforts. In a congratulatory letter to Biden on his election victory, Aliev said, “Azerbaijan expects the United States and other OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to step up their efforts to find a just solution to the conflict.”

Armenia says more than 1,200 Armenian troops have been killed in the war. Azerbaijan hasn't stated its losses.

Associated Press writers Jim Heintz in Moscow and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.

Armenian recruits baptized before heading into war

November 02, 2020

IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH (AP) — In a wooded area of Nagorno-Karabakh, new recruits to the war besieging the region are underwent a ritual Monday they hope will help them endure the fight — baptism into the Armenian Apostolic Church.

One by one, the young men in camouflage fatigues approached a priest, who dipped their clasped hands into a water-filled kettle and then anointed their heads and necks. Afterwards, the young men stood at attention as the priest hung wooden crosses around their necks.

Their faces were impassive, but one betrayed the emotion churning beneath by kissing the cross. “The baptism cleansed us and helped us forget about the horrors of the war," Tigran Kagramanian, an 18-year-old recruit, told The Associated Press after the Monday ceremony.

The fight between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces that began in late September is the worst eruption of hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh in decades. The region Azerbaijan has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the 1994 end of a separatist war that killed an estimated 30,000 people.

Several cease-fires have been declared, then ignored within hours. The Nagorno-Karabakh defense ministry said Monday that 1,177 Armenian fighters have died in the war, including the region's deputy defense minister.

Azerbaijani authorities haven’t disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed at least 91 civilians and wounded 400. In the most recent attempt to defuse tensions, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met Friday in Geneva for a day of talks brokered by Russia, the United States and France, co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which tries to mediate the conflict.

The talks concluded with the two sides agreeing they “will not deliberately target civilian populations or non-military objects in accordance with international humanitarian law,” but the agreement was quickly challenged by reports of shelling of civilian settlements.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that to end hostilities, Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh. He repeatedly criticized the Minsk Group for not producing progress and insisted that Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force since international mediators have failed.

Azerbaijani troops, which have relied on strike drones and long-range rocket systems supplied by Turkey, have reclaimed control of several regions on the fringes of Nagorno-Karabakh and pressed their offensive into the separatist territory from the south.

The newly baptized soldiers and the priests who blessed them are prepared for more suffering to come. “We came here to inspire, but it is us who are inspired, looking into the eyes of these young guys, who fully understand the situation and are nonetheless ready to take on this martyrs’ death, knowing that behind them are their shrines, their families and their mothers,” said one of the priests, Aristakes Hovhannisian.

Armenia asks Moscow for help amid Nagorno-Karabakh fighting

October 31, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia’s leader urged Russia on Saturday to consider providing security assistance to end more than a month of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, and both sides in the hostilities accused each other of breaking a mutual pledge not to target residential areas hours after it was made.

The fighting represents the biggest escalation in decades in a long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the separatist territory. As Azerbaijani troops pushed farther into Nagorno-Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to quickly discuss possible security aid to Armenia.

There was no immediate response from the Kremlin. Russia, which has a military base in Armenia and has signed a pact obliging it to protect its ally in case of foreign aggression, faces a delicate balancing act, of trying to also maintain good ties with Azerbaijan and avoid a showdown with Turkey.

Pashinian’s request puts Russia in a precarious position: joining the fighting would be fraught with unpredictable consequences and risk an open conflict with Turkey, while refusing to offer protection to its ally Armenia would dent Moscow’s prestige.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The latest outburst of hostilities began Sept. 27 and left hundreds — perhaps thousands — dead, marking the worst escalation of fighting since the war’s end.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met Friday in Geneva for a day of talks brokered by Russia, the United States and France, co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that tries to mediate the decades-long conflict.

The talks concluded close to midnight with the two sides agreeing they “will not deliberately target civilian populations or non-military objects in accordance with international humanitarian law.” But shortly after the mutual pledge was announced by the Minsk Group co-chairs, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities accused Azerbaijani forces of firing rockets at a street market and a residential building in the separatist region's capital, Stepanakert. They said that residential areas in the town of Shushi also came under Azerbaijani shelling.

In Stepanakert, shop owners came to their stalls to collect their merchandise and clear the debris after the shelling. “It seems they reached these agreements, but there is no truce at all,” said Karen Markaryan, a shop owner. "People don’t believe these empty words. And what will happen next is only known to God.”

Azerbaijan's defense ministry denied targeting civilian areas, and in turn accused Armenian forces of shelling several regions of Azerbaijan. The rapid failure of the latest attempt to contain the fighting follows the collapse of three successive cease-fires. A U.S.-brokered truce frayed immediately after it took effect Monday, just like two previous cease-fires negotiated by Russia. The warring sides have repeatedly blamed each other for violations.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has insisted that Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force after three decades of fruitless international mediation. He said that Armenia must pledge to withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh as a condition for a lasting truce.

Azerbaijani troops, which have relied on strike drones and long-range rocket systems supplied by Turkey, have reclaimed control of several regions on the fringes of Nagorno-Karabakh and pressed their offensive into the separatist territory from the south.

On Thursday, Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist leader said Azerbaijani troops had advanced to within 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) of the strategically located town of Shushi just south of the region’s capital, Stepanakert, which sits on the main road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

With Azerbaijani troops moving deeper into Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s prime minister made his first public plea for Russia's assistance since the latest fighting started. While Pashinian stopped short of directly asking Moscow to intervene militarily, he asked Putin to conduct “urgent consultations” on the “type and amount” of assistance that Russia could offer to ensure the security of Armenia. The Armenian leader argued that the fighting is raging increasingly close to the border of Armenia and pointed at alleged attacks on the Armenian territory, according to a statement released by his office.

During more than a month of fighting, Armenia and Azerbaijan have repeatedly accused each other of taking the fighting beyond Nagorno-Karabakh. Each side has denied the opposite claims. Retired Lt. Gen. Yevgeny Buzhisnky, the former chief of the Russian Defense Ministry's international cooperation department, said Moscow would stay away from the conflict.

“I exclude the Russian military's involvement,” Buzhinsky was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. “Azerbaijan is far too important for Russia to wage a war against it and Turkey.” He noted that Azerbaijan has tried to avoid hitting Armenian territory, so “there is no reason for the Russian military intervention.”

According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,166 of their troops and 39 civilians have been killed. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed at least 91 civilians and wounded 400. Putin said last week that, according to Moscow’s information, the actual death toll was significantly higher and nearing 5,000.

Armenia accused Azerbaijan of using white phosphorus munitions in fighting over forests close to residential areas. Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan put what he said was a short video of the attack on Twitter, saying it demonstrated Azerbaijan's “total disrespect of its commitments, continued aggression, devastation of civilian population and use of banned weapons.”

Azerbaijan has denied the accusations of using the incendiary weapons.

Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.

Armenia, Azerbaijan report more fighting despite cease-fire

October 27, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged more accusations of shelling on Tuesday, with fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in its fifth week and largely unhindered by a U.S.-brokered cease-fire that was announced over the weekend.

The Armenian military accused Azerbaijani forces of firing at Armenian border guard positions on the country's southern border with Iran. “The Armenian side has already retaliated,” Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry rejected the statement as “false and provocative." It in turn accused Armenian forces of shelling the Azerbaijani town of Terter and surrounding villages, and targeting areas of the Zangilan region with mortars.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials also reported clashes in several sectors. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan blamed each other for violating the truce that took effect Monday. Azerbaijani officials charged later in the day that Armenian forces fired rockets at the Goranboy, Terter and Barda regions of Azerbaijan. Three civilians were killed and 10 wounded in the Barda region, according to Hikmet Hajiyev, a foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijan's president.

The cease-fire was agreed upon Sunday after talks facilitated by the United States and came after two failed attempts by Russia to broker a lasting truce in the flare-up of a decades-old conflict. All three cease-fire agreements were immediately challenged by reports of violations from both sides.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Tuesday, pressing each of them to abide by the cease-fire and pursue a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. By then, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but also captured substantial areas outside the territory’s borders.

The latest fighting, which began Sept. 27 has involved heavy artillery, rockets and drones, in the largest escalation of hostilities over the separatist region in the quarter-century since the war ended.

According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,009 of their troops and 39 civilians have been killed in the clashes so far, while 122 civilians have been wounded. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed 65 civilians and wounded nearly 300.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that, according to Moscow’s information, the death toll from the fighting was nearing 5,000, significantly higher than what both sides report. Russia, the United States and France have co-chaired the so-called Minsk Group set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to mediate in the conflict, but their attempts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled.

The new cease-fire deal brokered by the U.S. came out of negotiations Washington facilitated over the weekend involving the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan and co-chairs of the Minsk Group.

The Minsk Group's co-chairs are set to meet with the two foreign ministers in Geneva on Thursday, but it remains unclear whether the talks would yield any progress. Aliyev has said that, to end hostilities, Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh. He has insisted that Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force since international mediators have failed.

In an address to the nation on Monday, Aliyev said that Azerbaijani forces have retaken control over several areas in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. His statement couldn't be independently verified, and officials in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have rejected some of Aliyev's earlier claims of territorial gains. However, on Monday night Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian said that Azerbaijan took control of the town of Gubadli and acknowledged that Azerbaijani forces also “made advances in some directions.”

In an interview released on Monday, Aliyev once again took aim at the Minsk Group, accusing its co-chairs of not achieving results in 28 years and working on “freezing the conflict" instead of resolving it, offering “just promises, just bureaucratic procedures.”

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.

Deaths mount in Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes amid truce calls

October 13, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Death and injury tolls rose Tuesday as fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces raged for a third week over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the United States urged both sides to adhere to a Russia-brokered cease-fire reached over the weekend.

Nagorno-Karabakh military officials said 16 servicemen were killed, bringing the total number of dead among troops to 532 since Sept. 27, when the latest outburst of fighting flared up in the decades-old conflict.

Azerbaijan hasn't disclosed its military losses, and the overall toll is likely to be much higher with both sides regularly claiming to have inflicted significant military casualties. Azerbaijani authorities said 42 civilians have been killed on their side since the start of the fighting. Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan late Monday reported at least 31 civilian deaths in the breakaway region in the past two weeks. Hundreds have been wounded.

The deadly clashes marked the biggest escalation of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies in Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of a separatist war in 1994.

After more than 10 hours of marathon talks in Moscow, foreign ministers from Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a cease-fire deal that took effect Saturday. Russia has a security pact with Armenia, but it also has cultivated warm ties with Azerbaijan, allowing it to play mediator.

But immediately after the deal took effect, both Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of breaching it with continued attacks. On Tuesday, Azerbaijani officials said Armenian forces shelled some of its regions, and Nagorno-Karabakh officials said Azerbaijan launched “large-scale military operations” along the front line. Each party customarily denies the other side's claims.

Ali Rastgou, a deputy governor of the Iranian province of Eastern Azerbaijan, said a missile hit farmland 70 kilometers (some 43 miles) northeast of Tabriz, Iran's third-largest city, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. He said there were no casualties.

IRNA said that since the clashes started, more than 50 rockets hit the border areas of Eastern Azerbaijan. The fighting has taken a severe toll on residents of Nagorno-Karabakh. In Stepanakert, the capital of the separatist territory that came under intense shelling last week, people huddle in the basements of apartment buildings or other shelters, fearing new attacks.

Several believers in the town of Shusha prayed Tuesday in the Holy Savior Cathedral, which last week had its dome pierced by a shell. “We never shoot their temples or ambulances, while they shoot ours. How can we be with them without a cease-fire?" said Artak, a resident who did not give his last name.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that both countries must “implement their commitments” to a cease-fire and stop targeting civilian areas. A similar statement came from the so-called Minsk Group, which is working under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and is co-chaired by Russia, France and the U.S. The group's co-chairs urged the sides to implement a humanitarian cease-fire immediately "to allow the return of remains, prisoners of war, and detainees” and agree to terms of a cease-fire verification process.

Turkey, which has taken a highly visible role during the current hostilities to support its ally Azerbaijan, has criticized other nations for failing to demand the withdrawal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh.

“We have said countless times that the only solution to this problem is for Armenia to withdraw from Azerbaijani territory,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after talks with his Swedish counterpart, Ann Linde, who urged an immediate cease-fire.

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Aida Sultanova in Baku, Azerbaijan, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Amir Vahdat in Tehran contributed.

Armenia, Azerbaijan say Nagorno-Karabakh truce fails to hold

October 10, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russia-brokered cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting Saturday, but immediately accused each other of derailing the deal intended to end the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist region in more than a quarter-century.

The two sides traded blame for breaking the truce that took effect at noon (0800 GMT) with new attacks, and Azerbaijan's top diplomat said the truce never entered force. The cease-fire announcement came overnight after 10 hours of talks in Moscow sponsored by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The deal stipulated that the cease-fire should pave the way for talks on settling the conflict.

If the truce holds, it would mark a major diplomatic coup for Russia, which has a security pact with Armenia but also cultivated warm ties with Azerbaijan. But the agreement was immediately challenged by mutual claims of violations.

Minutes after the truce took force, the Armenian military accused Azerbaijan of shelling the area near the town of Kapan in southeastern Armenia, killing one civilian. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry rejected the Armenian accusations as a “provocation.”

The Azerbaijani military, in turn, accused Armenia of striking the Terter and Agdam regions of Azerbaijan with missiles and then attempting to launch offensives in the Agdere-Terter and the Fizuli-Jabrail areas. Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov charged that “conditions for implementing the humanitarian cease-fire are currently missing” amid the continuing Armenian shelling.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry denied any truce violations by the Armenian forces. The latest outburst of fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces began Sept. 27 and left hundreds of people dead in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia.

Since the start of the latest fighting, Armenia said it was open to a cease-fire, while Azerbaijan insisted that it should be conditional on the Armenian forces’ withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, arguing that the failure of international efforts to negotiate a political settlement left it no other choice but to resort to force.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed the truce in Moscow after Russian President Vladimir Putin had brokered it in a series of calls with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

Russia has co-sponsored peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh together with the United States and France as co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which is working under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They haven't produced any deal, leaving Azerbaijan increasingly exasperated.

Speaking in an address to the nation Friday hours before the cease-fire deal was reached, Aliyev insisted on Azerbaijan's right to reclaim its territory by force after nearly three decades of international talks that “haven’t yielded an inch of progress."

His aide, Hikmat Hajiyev, said that the Minsk Group must offer a concrete plan for the Armenian forces' withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh. “There will be no peace in the South Caucasus until the Armenian troops pull out from the occupied territories,” he said.

Fighting with heavy artillery, warplanes and drones has engulfed Nagorno-Karabakh, with both sides accusing each other of targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure. According to the Nagorno-Karabakh military, 404 of its servicemen have been killed since Sept. 27. Azerbaijan hasn’t provided details on its military losses. Scores of civilians on both sides also have been killed.

The current escalation marked the first time that Azerbaijan's ally Turkey took a high profile in the conflict, offering strong political support. Over the past few years, Turkey provided Azerbaijan with state-of-the-art weapons, including drones and rocket systems that helped the Azerbaijani military outgun the Nagorno-Karabakh separatist forces in the latest fighting.

Armenian officials say Turkey is involved in the conflict and is sending Syrian mercenaries to fight on Azerbaijan’s side. Turkey has denied deploying combatants to the region, but a Syrian war monitor and three Syria-based opposition activists have confirmed that Turkey has sent hundreds of Syrian opposition fighters to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey's involvement in the conflict raised painful memories in Armenia, where an estimated 1.5 million died in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915. The event is widely viewed by historians as genocide, but Turkey denies that.

Turkey's highly visible role in the confrontation worried Russia, which has a military base in Armenia. Russia and Armenia are linked by a security treaty obliging Moscow to offer support to its ally if it comes under aggression.

But at the same time, Russia has sought to maintain strong economic and political ties with oil-rich Azerbaijan and ward off Turkey's attempt to increase its influence in the South Caucasus without ruining its delicate relations with Ankara.

Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have negotiated a series of deals to coordinate their conflicting interests in Syria and Libya and expanded their economic ties. Last year, NATO member Turkey took the delivery of the Russian S-400 air defense missiles, a move that angered Washington.

A lasting cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh would allow the Kremlin to stem Turkey's bid to expand its clout in Russia's backyard without ruining its strategic relationship with Ankara. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the deal was “an important first step, but cannot replace a lasting solution.”

“Since the beginning, Turkey has always underlined that it would only support those solutions which were acceptable to Azerbaijan,” it said. While Turkey has aspired to join the Minsk Group talks as a co-chair, the statement issued by Armenia and Azerbaijan contained their pledge to maintain the current format of the peace talks.

Speaking in televised remarks after the talks, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan emphasized that “no other country, in particular Turkey, can play any role.” The French Foreign Ministry hailed the truce announcement, adding that “now it must be put into practice and strictly respected to create conditions for a permanent end to hostilities between the two countries.”

Associated Press writers Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, Aida Sultanova in Baku, Azerbaijan and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report.