(PatrioticPost.com)- Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted early on Tuesday, triggering a futile attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to broker a ceasefire.
According to Reuters, Russia, the U.S., and France have urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the hostilities that have claimed the lives of at least 49 Armenian soldiers. The two countries are trading accusations for starting the deadliest conflict since the 2020 war over the semi-autonomous Nagorno-Karabakh region. A truce arranged by Russia that was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday fell through minutes later.
According to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, it is difficult to overstate the importance of the Russian Federation and the role of Putin personally. Naturally, the president is doing all his power to ease tensions at the border.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which is run by Russia and includes Armenia as a member, called a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue. Following the warring parties repeatedly ignoring UN requests for a ceasefire, Russia, an ally of Armenia, was crucial in bringing an end to hostilities after the 2020 conflict.
Following the 2020 conflict, Putin sent hundreds of peacekeepers to the region still under dispute following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters.
According to Reuters, Armenia said that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces shelled three border villages and retaliated in kind. According to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijan launched the attack to obstruct talks over what to do with the Nagorno-Karabakh territory it annexed from Armenia in 2020.
According to the Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense, Baku asserted that the strikes were “small scale” and carried out in retaliation for Armenia’s “large-scale provocations.” This was done to “secure the security of Azerbaijan’s borders.” It stated that Armenia had been carrying out intelligence operations and planting mines along the border but did not provide any casualty figures.
Azerbaijan has formally applied to the UN Security Council to implement the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance. Since the 1980s, tensions have existed between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the border region. Some European nations that have shifted their natural gas supply from Russia to Azerbaijan could be impacted.
