Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that 5,000 people had been killed’ in weeks of fighting in the mountainous province of Nagorno-Karabakh when the world leaders clashed.
Armenian
separatists who support Yerevan, who declared independence because the Soviet
Union was embroiled in a conflict that erupted into full-scale fighting again
last month, control the disputed region in Azerbaijan.
The
Prime Minister of Armenia, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has denied the
call for peace, and released two fighters on the ground after the militants
accused the other side of violations.
Putin
said in a televised address on Thursday that the two sides had lost nearly
2,000 lives in the fighting, which left thousands homeless and that both sides
were accused’ of war crimes.
"The
total number of deaths is already close to 5, 000," Putin said.
Armenian
separatists and the Azerbaijani army have claimed devastating damage to
military hardware and personnel.
However,
the recent outbreak of fighting that began on September 27 has resulted in less
than 1,000 confirmed deaths, including civilians. It is believed’ that
Azerbaijan has not disclosed its military casualties.
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End of Diplomacy -
After
nearly a month of fighting, Azerbaijan has repeatedly boasted of military
gains, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan acknowledged this week that
his country was facing a "difficult situation" on the front lines.
Aliyev
made the key claim on Thursday - denied by Armenia - that his army now has full
control of the border with Iran.
"The
state border between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been
completely secured through the liberation of the town of Agbend," he said
on Twitter.
Baku
has never hidden its desire to gain full control of Karabakh and the seven
territories, but analysts say it will fight for it only through military means.
Yet
diplomacy is not over, as Pashinyan reject any diplomatic solution to the
conflict for the moment, and Aliyev has recently vowed to hunt down the Armenian
army "like dogs". ۔
After
the diplomat left for Moscow this week for talks with his Russian counterpart,
Sergei Lavrov, the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet
separately with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday.
Putin
said Thursday that he was in "constant" contact with Pashinyan and
Aliyev at the point where he spoke to them "several times a day."
-
'Calm tension'.
On
Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke with the two leaders and
met with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian.
The
search for a long-term solution to the conflict - one of the most enduring
issues remaining since the collapse of the Soviet Union - is in the hands of
the Minsk Group of Regional Powers, led by France, Russia and the United
States.
The
group broke the ceasefire in 1994, but at the same time lacked the political
will to find a lasting solution to the conflict.
Pashinyan
says the Minsk Group's roadmap for peace is now unacceptable, and Azerbaijan
says that after nearly 30 years of stalemate, its staunch ally and military
backer, Turkey, should be placed’ on the negotiating table.
On
Thursday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said he expected allied Turkey's
influence to help prevent further fighting and called for an immediate
ceasefire.
"Turkey
is a valuable ally, but I also expect Turkey to use its significant influence
in the region to defuse tensions."
In
an interview with AFP, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), which monitors the conflict, called on all parties to stop shelling
civilians.
"We
insist that the parties to the conflict abide by international humanitarian
law" said Gerardo Moloeznik.
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