Russia said on Saturday that it would provide "necessary" assistance to Yerevan in the conflict with Azerbaijan if he requested allied assistance to reach Armenian territory.
Earlier Saturday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
formally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin "immediate"
consultations on security assistance in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the
conflict with Azerbaijan.
After Armenia and Azerbaijan failed to agree on a
new ceasefire during talks in Geneva on Friday, Pasninyan sent the letter to
Putin, as fighting continues overnight and Saturday.
These announcements have raised fears of
escalating fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Some observers are concerned that this could lead
to decades of conflict between Yerevan's allies Russia and Turkey, which backs
Baku.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in
fierce fighting for more than a month in Nagorno-Karabakh, an area of
Azerbaijan ruled by Armenian separatists since the break-up of the Soviet
Union.
The outbreak has killed more than a thousand people;
so far, the world powers have failed to persuade either side to stop fighting.
Armenia's second-largest city, Gyumri, has a
Russian military base and a defense agreement with Yerevan.
Moscow, which has previously said its defense
agreement with Armenia does not extend to the deviant Nagorno-Karabakh region,
reiterated that assistance would be provided’ if fighting escalated.
"If there are direct clashes on Armenian
soil, Russia will provide all necessary assistance to Yerevan," the
foreign ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Maria Zakharova said on television that the "concrete form" of aid to
Armenia would be’ discussed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has also called on
the warring parties to immediately cease-fire, escalate tensions and start
"stable" talks.
In his letter to Putin, Pashinyan said that
hostilities were growing closer to Armenia's borders and reiterated that
Azerbaijan's ally Turkey was backing Baku.
The ministry said in a statement that "the
prime minister of Armenia has asked the Russian president to initiate immediate
consultations with the aim of determining the nature and amount of aid that the
Russian Federation can provide to Armenia to ensure its security."
Is."
Pashinyan sought Moscow's help, calling for
closer ties between the two countries and a 1997 agreement on friendship,
co-operation and co-operation.
- 'Impossible to calculate risks' -
Carey Cavanaugh, a former US ambassador and
co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, said Putin was of the view that an extension
of military engagement in the conflict was not in Moscow's interest.
"It's impossible to quantify this threat,
but injecting one of the Russian or Turkish armed forces would be a significant
sign of conflict," Cavanaugh, a professor of diplomacy at the University
of Kentucky, told AFP.
At the same time, he said, "Russia could
remove some forces from the barracks in Geometry to increase border security
(they are already cooperating on that) or any of the displaced civilians
fleeing the fighting." Can help with expulsion. "
Hikmat Hajiyev, an aide to the Azerbaijani president told AFP that Baku would not comment.
On Friday, mediators from France, Russia and the
United States said in a statement from Geneva that the warring parties had
pledged not to "deliberately target civilians or non-military objects in
accordance with international humanitarian law."
But Karabakh's separatist-led Defense Ministry on
Saturday accused Azerbaijan of violating the Geneva Accords and targeting the
central city of Stepanakert and the strategically important town of Shusha.
The ministry said civilians were
"injured" in Shusha. Baku refused to target the central city of Karabakh.
In the 1990s, Yerevan-backed Armenian separatists
killed 30,000 people when they plunged Azerbaijan and Armenia into a bitter
conflict over Karabakh.
The current clashes began on September 27 and
continue despite repeated international efforts to secure a ceasefire.
The warring parties have agreed to a ceasefire
three times during recent talks mediated by Russia, France, and the United
States, but the fighting is soon over.
More than 1,200 people have been reported’ killed
on both sides since the fighting began, but the actual death toll is believed’
to be much higher.
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