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Pashinian Offers 'Urgent' Talks As Azerbaijan Accuses Armenia Of Firing On Troops

By RFE/RL's Armenian Service, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service September 09, 2023

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, in calls with Western leaders and Iran, has offered to hold "urgent" talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to prevent another upsurge in violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and along the two countries' borders.

The offer came as both sides traded accusations of "disinformation" and "provocations" in recent days and as Azerbaijani officials on September 9 accused Armenian forces of firing on their troops overnight, a claim Yerevan rejected.

Baku said the most recent firefight occurred in the north of Naxcivan, an exclave of Azerbaijan that borders Armenia, Turkey, and Iran. It did not say if there had been any casualties.

Persistent tensions between Yerevan and Baku have spiked in recent weeks, mainly over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region controlled by ethnic Armenians who have accused Azerbaijan of blockading the breakaway region.

The Armenian government has also accused Azerbaijan of massing troops along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Karabakh "line of contact" in possible preparation for another large-scale military assault.

Pashinian made his offer of new talks with Aliyev in separate phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, his office said.

Pashinian "expressed readiness to hold urgent discussions with the president of Azerbaijan aimed at reducing the tensions," a government statement on his call with Macron, which reportedly took place late on September 8.

The statement said Pashinian also reaffirmed his recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity made during October 2022 and May 2023 meetings with Aliyev attended by Macron.

A foreign-policy adviser to Aliyev told Reuters that Azerbaijan had not received a renewed offer of talks from Yerevan.

Meanwhile, three senior Azerbaijani officials on September 8 met with Baku-based foreign diplomats to accuse Armenia of stepping up "military provocations," "imitating" peace talks, and continuing to foment "separatism" in Karabakh.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry denied the accusations.

The escalation of tensions comes amid the continuing crisis over Nagorno-Karabakh, where Yerevan and local ethnic Armenian authorities accuse Baku of continuing its "illegal blockade" of the region, resulting in severe shortages of food, fuel, and other basic products.

Baku denies it is blockading the region and has proposed opening an alternative road passing through the Azerbaijani-controlled town of Agdam, but ethnic Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have rejected that offer.

With tensions rising, Armenia announced on September 6 that it would host a joint army exercise with the United States next week.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said the purpose of the September 11-20 Eagle Partner 2023 exercise was to prepare its forces to take part in international peacekeeping missions.

A U.S. military spokesperson said 85 U.S. soldiers and 175 Armenians would take part, according to Reuters.

That announcement came following remarks by Pashinian stating that his country's policy of relying solely on Russia to guarantee its security was a strategic mistake, in light of what he said was Moscow's efforts to wind down its role in the wider region.

Moscow responded angrily to the comments, summoning the Armenian ambassador for a protest over what it termed "unfriendly steps" taken by Yerevan.

Meanwhile on September 9, separatist lawmakers in Nagorno-Karabakh voted to elect Samvel Shahramanian, 44, as the new president of the region, an action condemned by Baku.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-armenia-naxcivan- shooting/32585451.html

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Pashinian Offers 'Urgent' Talks As Azerbaijan Accuses Armenia Of Firing On Troops