Armenia has overnight acknowledged that the Nagorno-Karabakh forces have withdrawn from a strategic town between the enclave and the Iranian border, apparently, a new military advantage for Azerbaijan as a month of ceasefire for a US soldier ends. I failed.
Azerbaijan, Turkey's ally, has since been trying
to seize Nagorno-Karabakh, a fragmented region dominated by populations and
ethnic Armenians. Hundreds of people have been killed’ in the region's worst
fighting in decades and Turkey and Russia face a regional conflict from the
region.
Arthur Hansen, an Armenian Defense Ministry
official, told a news conference late Monday that the ethnic Armenian army had
abandoned the Gubadli settlement south of the enclave "to avoid
unnecessary damage", but that the situation was not "critical".
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Azerbaijan's military advantages could make
diplomatic solutions more difficult. He and Turkey reject any proposed solution
that would allow the Armenians to remain in control of the enclave. Armenia
says it will not back down from an area seen as part of its historic homeland
where its population needs protection.
The two countries agreed to a ceasefire on Sunday
when their foreign ministers met separately with US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo in Washington. But the war seems to have had little effect. The last two
ceasefires have been’ largely ignored by Russia.
On the morning of Nagorno-Karabakh, local battles
were taking place along several parts of the front line. Azerbaijan's Defense
Ministry said the war would focus on three front areas.
"The situation in the disputed area remained
relatively stable and tense overnight. Artillery fighting continued in some
areas," the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said.
It said in a statement that the shells had landed
in the towns of Martuni and Martakert, as well as in villages in the northern
part of the Askeran region.
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said in a statement
that it had fired on its military positions and settlements near the front line
and that fighting was continuing mainly in the Khojavend, Fizuli, and Gubadli
areas.
The OSCE Minsk Group, formed to mediate the
dispute and is headed’ by France, Russia, and the United States, will meet with
the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Geneva on January 29. Turkey
has called for a bigger role in the mediation body.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy
said late Monday that "negotiations to include the Minsk Group for the
sake of results" require negotiations based on goals in accordance with US
Security Council resolutions and international law.
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