US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has condemned the ongoing attack by Azerbaijan against the ethnic-Armenian province of Nagorno-Karabakh and called for an immediate end to hostilities. Blinken’s statement, made on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh due to Azerbaijan’s military actions. He urged for direct dialogue and an immediate cessation of violence. The EU, US, and Russia have also condemned Azerbaijan’s operation.
In an attempt to resolve the crisis, Blinken plans to hold talks with all parties involved. An unnamed US official revealed that the Secretary of State aims to end the egregious outbreak of violence in the province. The conflict escalated on Tuesday after Azerbaijan launched what it described as “counter-terrorism measures” against Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan alleges that it is targeting Armenian military buildup in the region, while Yerevan denies deploying any units to Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of attempting to carry out ethnic cleansing in the region.
This recent aggression by Azerbaijan has been strongly denounced not only by the US, EU, and Russia but also by several other global powers. Russia previously brokered a ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia during their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and currently has peacekeepers stationed in the province. Although Azerbaijan claims to have informed Russia before its military operation, the Russian Foreign Ministry asserted that the warning came only minutes before the action commenced, according to spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
While the US is not formally allied with Armenia or Azerbaijan, it has been selling weapons to Azerbaijan since 2002 in return for access to the country as a base for deploying troops to Afghanistan. This has become a point of contention for the sizable Armenian diaspora in the US, estimated to be around two million people. France and Germany, both NATO allies of the US, have condemned Azerbaijan’s actions, with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna referring to the operation as illegal, unjustifiable, and unacceptable.
In contrast, Turkey, another NATO member, has voiced support for Azerbaijan. The Turkish Foreign Ministry stated that Azerbaijan was forced to take necessary action on its sovereign territory. The ongoing conflict has led to protests in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, where demonstrators clashed with the police outside government buildings. Opposition politicians and activists have criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for allegedly abandoning Nagorno-Karabakh by stating he would recognize Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the province earlier this summer.
Azerbaijan has vowed to continue its bombardment of Nagorno-Karabakh until authorities backed by Armenia surrender and dissolve their government. The situation remains tense, and there is an urgent need for a peaceful resolution to prevent further loss of life and humanitarian suffering in the region. The international community, including the US, is actively engaged in diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the hostilities and promote dialogue between the conflicting parties.
Source link
