Armenian Weekly
March 29, 2022

A View from Baku: How Azerbaijan perceives the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Azerbaijan continues to utilize the preoccupation of the international community with the war in Ukraine to pursue its long-term policy of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh, by cutting off gas supplies and harassing the people, as well as achieving certain tactical gains on the ground through military means.

By doing so, Azerbaijan is also testing the limits of the Russian peacekeepers and exerting psychological pressure on the Armenian government.

Knowing that the EU needs its energy resources and Russia is busy in Ukraine, Azerbaijan will continue exerting additional pressure on Armenia to sign a conditional and humiliating “peace deal” with Baku.

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PanArmenian.net
March 29, 2022

Azerbaijan paving the way for new provocations in Karabakh, says Armenia

Azerbaijan is paving the way for new provocations and attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), the Security Council of Armenia said in a statement on Monday, March 28.

The Council said the security situation around Nagorno-Karabakh was extremely tense, and that their analysis shows that Azerbaijan, trying to find imaginary justifications, is paving the way for new provocations and attacks in Artsakh, including accusing Armenia of “unconstructive actions in the issue of the peace treaty.”

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“The Security Council, drawing the attention of the international community on the chances for armed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, considers it necessary to launch international containment mechanisms to prevent further military escalation and ethnic cleansing in the region.”

The statement came amid renewed violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, as Azerbaijan stormed into the zone of the responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers stationed in the area and is refusing to completely withdraw its forces from strategic heights.

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Panorama.am
March 29, 2022

Artsakh MPs expect Azerbaijani troops to return to their initial positions

The five factions of the Artsakh National Assembly on Tuesday issued the following statement after the restoration of gas supplies in the country:

“On March 28, the gas supply, which had been artificially disrupted by Azerbaijan for a few days, was restored in the Artsakh Republic.

Gas supply is a purely humanitarian issue, but Azerbaijan has used it as a means of exerting pressure on and terrorizing the Artsakh people. However, the Artsakh Armenians, once again demonstrating high civic responsibility, managed to overcome the situation.

This policy of repressions has been strongly criticized by the Republic of Armenia, the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the international community, in particular, the Russian Federation, the U.S., France, as well as a number of other countries and international organizations.

All the factions of the National Assembly of the Artsakh Republic express gratitude to the international institutions and our friends for taking a principled stance.

At the same time, highly valuing the consistent steps being taken by the Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in the Artsakh Republic, we expect the Azerbaijani troops to return to their starting positions.”

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Massis Post
March 29, 2022

Russian Peacekeepers to Boost Presence in Askeran Region of Karabakh

The Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh said on Tuesday that it will deploy more soldiers in and around a local village that was occupied by Azerbaijani forces last week.

In a social media post, the contingent’s command said the deployment of its “reserve forces” is aimed at preventing the Azerbaijani army from pushing deeper into Karabakh’s eastern Askeran district.

Azerbaijani troops captured the Askeran village of Parukh and advanced towards a strategic mountain to the west of it last Thursday, meeting with stiff resistance from Karabakh Armenian forces. Deadly fighting there stopped by Saturday evening following the intervention of the Russian peacekeepers.

The peacekeepers took control of Parukh on Monday after Moscow warned Baku to leave their “zone of responsibility.” According to Karabakh authorities, although Azerbaijani forces withdrew from the village itself, they continue to occupy a section of the Karaglukh mountain.

Karabakh’s Defense Army said on Monday that it is also taking “additional containment measures” to avert further Azerbaijani advances in the area about 35 kilometers east of Stepanakert.

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PanArmenian.net
March 29, 2022

Azeri troops trying to annoy Karabakh residents out of their homes

The Azerbaijani military has been loudly playing mugham pieces for three days now, as well as threatening through loudspeakers, thus trying to make the residents of the Armenian village of Taghavard leave their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

According to Rudik Baghdasaryan, a local official, the villagers are getting used to the “unpleasant” music and trying to live as best they can.

“Now they have come up with something new: they say ‘abandon the village if you don’t want to suffer the same fate as Parukh’,” Pastinfo cited Baghdasaryan as saying on Tuesday, March 29.

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Baghdasaryan’s comments come amid renewed violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, as Azerbaijan has stormed into the zone of the responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers stationed in the area and is refusing to completely withdraw its forces from strategic heights.

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AzerNews
March 29, 2002

Russian official calls on MP to refrain from making unfriendly statements against Azerbaijan

Russia’s Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov called on Member of State Duma Mikhail Delyagin to control his personal emotions and abstain from making unfriendly statements against Azerbaijan, Trend reports citing TASS.

“This statement derives from an outburst of personal emotions. We would urge to control these emotions and refrain from such statements, particularly against our partners. Azerbaijan belongs to the category of partner states,” Peskov said while commenting on the MP’s announcement on the possibility of strikes against the Azerbaijani oil infrastructure amidst the escalation of the situation in Karabakh.