Armenia ready for ‘mutual concessions’ with Azerbaijan: Live news
PM Nikol Pashinyan says his country could make concessions over Nagorno-Karabakh if Azerbaijan would do the same.
Published On 6 Oct 2020
- Fighting in Nagorno Karabakh spills into the 10th day
- Syrian president says he can confirm fighters from Syria were deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh
- Armenia will make “mutual concessions” if Azerbaijan is ready to do the same.
19:25 GMT – Iran concerned about ‘regional war’
Iran is concerned that the potential involvement of several foreign fighters in the conflict over the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh could lead to “regional war”, President Hassan Rouhani has told his Azerbaijani counterpart.
“The security, stability and calm in the region, especially in Iran’s northern borders, is extremely important to us,” Rouhani told Ilham Aliyev in a phone call. “This conflict and persistence of border insecurity must not create the grounds for infiltration of terrorist groups,” he was quoted as saying by the president’s website.
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Rouhani also told Aliyev Iran continues to be ready for conflict resolution through holding talks based on international laws and respect for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Aliyev reportedly welcomed Iran’s stance, saying Azerbaijan appreciates Iranian concerns over regional instability.
“Iran’s security is Azerbaijan’s security,” he was quoted as saying. “We will not allow this conflict to create insecurity in neighbouring countries”.
18:15 GMT – Armenia ‘confident’ Russia will defend it if necessary: PM
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Tuesday that he was sure Russia would come to its defence if necessary in its conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
“In case of a security threat to Armenia, Russia’s engagement will be subject to our treaty framework,” Pashinyan told AFP news agency in an interview in Yerevan.
“I am confident that as per the situation, Russia will uphold its treaty obligations.”
17:02 GMT – Armenia ready for ‘mutual concessions’ with Azerbaijan on Karabakh: PM
Armenia is ready to make concessions in its conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Tuesday, but only if Baku is willing to do the same.
“Conflicts need to be resolved on the basis of mutual concessions,” Pashinyan told the AFP news agency in an interview in Yerevan.
“Nagorno-Karabakh is ready, and Armenia is ready, to mirror the concessions that Azerbaijan is ready to make.”
15:40 GMT – Russia, Iran concerned about risk of foreign fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed concern over the potential involvement of Syrian and Libyan fighters in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russia’s foreign ministry said.
During their phone call, their second since Friday, the ministers also expressed “serious concern about the unprecedented escalation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the ministry said.
15:20 GMT – Turkey’s alliance with Azerbaijan could impact ceasefire talks – expert
Azerbaijan’s key ally Turkey could help bring start negotiations on a ceasefire, King’s College professor Domitilla Sagramoso told Al Jazeera from London amid Turkish foreign ministers visit to Azerbaijan.
“I hope this is going to be a conversation where the decision is to try and stop the violence and reduce the intensity of the conflict”, she said. noting that the Turkish position has been very much in support of Azerbaijan military situation. Sagramoso hoped Turkey would exert some type of pressure on Baku and President Ilham Iliyev to push for negotiations “on a ceasefire and the doors are open for some meaningful talks about the future of the region”.
“I think the situation is extremely dangerous and volatile and this war could go on and on,” Sagramoso added. Speaking during a visit to the Azeri capital Baku, Cavusoglu said a ceasefire alone would not be sufficient to end the fighting.
14:53 GMT – Bombing resumes in Nogorno-Karabakh city
Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh’s main city of Stepanakert has resumed after a period of calm on Tuesday, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith reported from Goris, Armenia.
“While [Stepanakert] was relatively quiet today … we understand that early this evening bombardment has started again,” he said.
“Stepanakert was heavily bombarded on Monday and we now know that Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pishyan was there at the time,” Smith revealed, adding the Armenian leader was visiting the president of Nagorno-Karabakh and the military there.
Good Evening. This is Usaid Siddiqui in Doha taking over from Arwa Ibrahim and Anealla Safdar.
14:07 GMT: International football games moved from Armenia, Azerbaijan
Armenia and Azerbaijan will no longer host international soccer matches in the next week for security reasons amid their conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
UEFA said Tuesday the national teams’ home games in the Nations League will instead be played in neutral Poland and Albania.
The decision was made after UEFA “assessed the situation in Armenia and Azerbaijan further to the latest developments in both countries.”
13:35 GMT – UK, Canada renew call ceasefire, urge dialogue
Britain and Canada said there was an urgent need to stop military action in and around Nagorno-Karabakh and called for all parties to return to the negotiating table.
“Canada and the United Kingdom reiterate the urgent need to end the continuing military action in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Canadian Foreign Minister François-Phillippe Champagne said.
“We are particularly concerned by reports of the shelling of civilian areas and wish to express our condolences to the families of those who have tragically lost their lives.”
12:21 GMT – Turkey criticises ceasefire efforts to end Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu criticised international efforts to tackle the Azeri-Armenian conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, saying they had achieved nothing in nearly 30 years.
Speaking during a visit to the Azeri capital Baku on Tuesday, Cavusoglu said a ceasefire alone would not be sufficient to end the fighting.
“We look at the calls coming from around the world, and it’s ‘immediate ceasefire’. What then? There was a ceasefire until now, but what happened?” Cavusoglu said in comments broadcast on Turkish television.
11:47 GMT – ‘Armenian assaults on civilian targets sign of desperation’
Armenia’s attacks on civilian settlements in Azerbaijan are not only a crime against humanity, but also a sign of the desperation that the country fell into, said Turkey’s foreign minister.
“We will [continue to] support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, just as we did with Georgia, Ukraine, Syria, and Iraq’s territorial integrity,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital.
Cavusoglu also criticised the Minsk Group’s neutral stance on the conflict.
11:26 GMT – Russian intelligence warns clash could see fighters enter Russia
The head of Russia’s SVR Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, has warned that Nagorno-Karabakh risks becoming a launch pad for fighters who could enter Russian territory, the Interfax news agency cited him as saying.
Naryshkin said he expected Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to the negotiating table over the region.
10:42 GMT – Turkey’s FM arrives in Baku
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Baku, where he is scheduled to meet Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
The trip comes as Armenia accused Azerbaijan of firing missiles into the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh on Monday, while Azerbaijan said several of its towns and its second-largest city were attacked.
Xarici işlər naziri Ceyhun Bayramov və Türkiyənin Xarici İşlər naziri Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu mətbuata açıqlama ilə çıxış edirlər 🇦🇿🇹🇷
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Foreign Minister @Bayramov_Jeyhun and Minister of Foreign Affairs of #Turkey @MevlutCavusoglu make press statements to the media 🇦🇿🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/FPkrvOeSIg— MFA Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 (@AzerbaijanMFA) October 6, 2020
10:01 GMT – Nagorno-Karabakh says 21 more servicemen killed in fighting with Azerbaijan
Ethnic Armenian officials in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh said that 21 more servicemen had been killed in fighting with Azerbaijan, bringing its total military death toll to 244 since war broke out.
08:10 GMT – Armed groups from Syria being deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, says Assad
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said “Damascus can confirm” that armed groups from Syria were being deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, speaking in an interview with Russia’s RIA news agency.
Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied allegations from France, Russia and Iran that Ankara is sending Syrian mercenaries to take part in the fighting that broke out on September
08:00 GMT – Syria’s Assad calls Turkey’s Erdogan the ‘main instigator’ in Nagorno-Karabakh
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan of being the main instigator of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, speaking in an interview with Russia’s RIA news agency.
The fighting has increased international concern that other regional powers could be dragged into the conflict – Turkey has expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan while Armenia has a defence pact with Russia.
07:50 GMT – Armenia reports calmer night
“After the calls of the international community to immediately stop military actions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, the line of conflict was relatively calm,” Armenian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said.
Armenia’s foreign ministry issued a new call for an immediate ceasefire and said that “any attempt of military solution will be resolutely prevented.”
Ceasefire appeals by the United States, Russia and France have been ignored. The three countries have for years led mediation efforts in a conflict that broke out as the Soviet Union collapsed, it killed about 30,000 people.
Good morning. Arwa Ibrahim in Doha and Anealla Safdar in London will be bringing you the latest updates on the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis today, Tuesday, October 6.
Here’s a quick recap:
Fighting in Nagorno Karabakh has spilled into a tenth day on Tuesday, with no sign of a let-up as Armenia and Azerbaijan continue their clash over the disputed region.
The two rivals are ignoring international appeals for a ceasefire, and have accused one another of causing civilian and military casualties.
On Monday, shelling continued in key cities.
Violence periodically flares up in the breakaway region, which is inside Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians, but the latest fighting has raised fears of an all-out war erupting.
Turkey has come under particular scrutiny from other countries because it has thrown its full support behind Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Turkey is facilitating the transfer of fighters from northern Syria to Nagorno-Karabakh to boost Azeri forces – a claim denied by both Baku and Ankara. More on that later.