New fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh dims hopes before talks in US

A man in a residential area of Ganja city in Azerbaijan yesterday, amid the debris of buildings that were hit by shelling in the military conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Hundreds of people have been killed si
A man in a residential area of Ganja city in Azerbaijan yesterday, amid the debris of buildings that were hit by shelling in the military conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Hundreds of people have been killed since the fighting flared on Sept 27. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

BAKU/YEREVAN • Hopes of ending nearly a month of bloodshed in the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh were receding yesterday as Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces fought new battles on the eve of talks in Washington.

Plans for United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia today raised hopes this week that the two former Soviet republics would agree to end their deadliest fighting since the mid-1990s.

But those hopes have been dented by the continued heavy fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway territory which is inside Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians, and by angry rhetoric from both sides.

Armenia's Prime Minister said on Wednesday he could see no diplomatic resolution of the long-running conflict at this stage.

Azerbaijan's President said on Tuesday his country would reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh by force.

Hundreds of people have been killed since fighting flared on Sept 27, raising fears of a wider war drawing in Turkey and Russia, and increasing concerns about the security of pipelines in Azerbaijan that carry Azeri gas and oil through the South Caucasus to world markets.

Russia has brokered two ceasefires since Sept 27, but neither has held.

Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry reported fighting in several areas yesterday, including territories close to the line of contact that divides the sides.

It also said Armenia had fired three ballistic missiles at three regions inside Azerbaijan, but Armenia said this was "complete nonsense and a cynical lie".

The Armenian Defence Ministry reported fighting in several areas, and Nagorno-Karabakh officials said the town of Martuni and nearby villages in the enclave had been shelled.

Azerbaijan wants to regain control of Nagorno-Karabakh before it agrees to end fighting. Armenia says it will not allow this and accuses Azerbaijan of making a land grab in the recent fighting.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said this month he believed there was a military solution to the conflict, and his aide Hikmet Hajiyev said on Wednesday that Azerbaijan did not expect any breakthrough at the talks in Washington.

Azeri forces, bolstered in recent years by increased military spending and the purchase of weapons from Turkey, say they have made territorial gains in the latest fighting, though Nagorno-Karabakh says its forces have repulsed repeated attacks.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan underlined how far apart the sides are on Wednesday, saying: "Everything that is diplomatically acceptable to the Armenian side... is not acceptable to Azerbaijan any more."

Mr Pashinyan had previously said that Armenia was ready for talks based on mutual concessions and a solution acceptable to all sides of the conflict.

Mr Pompeo said on Wednesday he still hoped a diplomatic solution could be found and underlined that the "right path forward is to cease the conflict, tell them to de-escalate, that every country should stay out".

Turkey has said it will not hesitate to send soldiers and provide military support for Azerbaijan if such a request is made by its close ally.

Russia has a defence pact with Armenia, but Mr Pashinyan has said he does not advocate Russian military involvement in the conflict.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 23, 2020, with the headline New fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh dims hopes before talks in US. Subscribe