Washington must stop Azerbaijan’s “aggression” against the breakaway region, Yerevan’s top diplomat said
An Azerbaijani strike in Nagorno-Karabakh, on September 19, 2023. © Azerbaijani Defense Ministry / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Armenia’s ambassador-at-large Edmon Marukyan has called on the US to intervene in the renewed fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, asking Washington to defend the region’s civilian population.
“Now, Azerbaijan has started a large-scale aggression and military operation against the peaceful people of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Marukyan wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “It is the US’s turn now as to what measures will be used to stop the aggression and military attack on the trapped and starving people.”
The diplomat appealed to US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and the EU leaders, asking them to condemn Baku.
Moscow reacted to Marukyan’s comment by urging the sides to respect to the 2020 ceasefire agreement. “There shouldn’t be any turns,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “There should be concrete efforts based on a real and tangible legal framework, which provides an opportunity to bring about a peaceful settlement.”
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On Tuesday, Baku announced the start of a “counterterrorism” operation in its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is mostly populated by ethnic Armenians. Armenia, meanwhile, accused Azerbaijan of unprovoked aggression.
Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan in 1988 and has been backed by Yerevan ever since. Baku lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas in the early 1990s, but regained a lot of previously lost ground following the 44-day war in 2020.
The 2020 fighting ended with a Moscow-brokered ceasefire, which included the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the area.
