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The Armenian Observer
June 21, 2010 Monday 3:22 PM EST
Death tall raises as fighting continues in Karabakh
Jun. 21, 2010 (The Armenian Observer delivered by Newstex) --
At least six soldiers, four of whom Armenians, have been killed as
fighting continued in Karabakh over the weekend.Armenias Defense
Ministry said the fighting began in the northeast of Karabakh late on
Friday. It said an Azerbaijani sabotage unit attacked Karabakh
Armenian positions there, killing four and wounding as many Armenia
soldiers before retreating into Azerbaijani-controlled territory,
leaving one dead.
Exchange of fire has continued over the weekend. Azerbaijans Military
said on Monday, that one more Azerbaijani soldier has been killed
during a night-attack by Armenian forces. It also claimed Å`losses
occurred on the Armenian side, but the statement has been dismissed by
the Armenian side.
Forcing concessions?
This worst fighting in more than two years occurred a day after
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Saint Petersburg, Russia
for fresh peace talks hosted by their Russian counterpart, Dmitry
Medvedev.
Official Yerevan portrayed it as a further indication that the
Azerbaijani leadership is Å`doing everything to scuttle the Karabakh
peace process mediated by Russia, the United States and France.
Officials in Baku dismissed the claim.
There are speculations in Yerevan, that the Azerbaijani attack was
aimed at prodding the international community to seek more Armenian
concessions to Azerbaijan.
Escalation?
Azerbaijans president Ilham Aliyev left St. Petersburg right after
talks with his Armenian counterpart.
Aliyev didnt attend the economic summit, which was initially presented
as the main reason, why Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents had
visited St. Petersburg in the first place, raised questions about the
talks and the attack that followed. Was Aliyev so displeased with
talks, that he left Russia earlier than planned and ordered an attack?
Is this another sign of escalation? Or was it a coincidence?
There were also rumors, that Karabakh is preparing for war, Defense
Army is being mobilized, etc. A Karabakh-based blogger, Hayk Khanuyan,
dismissed those rumors, saying Football World Cup dominated worries
and news-agenda in Stepanakert, capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (Artsakh).
On another note, there was criticism around the Armenian blogosphere,
that the authorities in Yerevan were too Ë`mild and Ë`dilpomatic in
their statement regarding the attack, while the authorities in
Stepanakert kept silent altogether. The reserved tone of the Armenian
authorities was interpreted as a decision to avoid further escalation
of conflict by using inflammatory rhetoric.
P.S. When the Azerbaijani attack was reported on Saturday, it somehow
reminded of the Georgian-Russian war which started on the day when the
Olympic games were starting in China. Likewise, much of worlds
attention is glued to the Football World Cup these days¦
From: A. Papazian
June 21, 2010 Monday 3:22 PM EST
Death tall raises as fighting continues in Karabakh
Jun. 21, 2010 (The Armenian Observer delivered by Newstex) --
At least six soldiers, four of whom Armenians, have been killed as
fighting continued in Karabakh over the weekend.Armenias Defense
Ministry said the fighting began in the northeast of Karabakh late on
Friday. It said an Azerbaijani sabotage unit attacked Karabakh
Armenian positions there, killing four and wounding as many Armenia
soldiers before retreating into Azerbaijani-controlled territory,
leaving one dead.
Exchange of fire has continued over the weekend. Azerbaijans Military
said on Monday, that one more Azerbaijani soldier has been killed
during a night-attack by Armenian forces. It also claimed Å`losses
occurred on the Armenian side, but the statement has been dismissed by
the Armenian side.
Forcing concessions?
This worst fighting in more than two years occurred a day after
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Saint Petersburg, Russia
for fresh peace talks hosted by their Russian counterpart, Dmitry
Medvedev.
Official Yerevan portrayed it as a further indication that the
Azerbaijani leadership is Å`doing everything to scuttle the Karabakh
peace process mediated by Russia, the United States and France.
Officials in Baku dismissed the claim.
There are speculations in Yerevan, that the Azerbaijani attack was
aimed at prodding the international community to seek more Armenian
concessions to Azerbaijan.
Escalation?
Azerbaijans president Ilham Aliyev left St. Petersburg right after
talks with his Armenian counterpart.
Aliyev didnt attend the economic summit, which was initially presented
as the main reason, why Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents had
visited St. Petersburg in the first place, raised questions about the
talks and the attack that followed. Was Aliyev so displeased with
talks, that he left Russia earlier than planned and ordered an attack?
Is this another sign of escalation? Or was it a coincidence?
There were also rumors, that Karabakh is preparing for war, Defense
Army is being mobilized, etc. A Karabakh-based blogger, Hayk Khanuyan,
dismissed those rumors, saying Football World Cup dominated worries
and news-agenda in Stepanakert, capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (Artsakh).
On another note, there was criticism around the Armenian blogosphere,
that the authorities in Yerevan were too Ë`mild and Ë`dilpomatic in
their statement regarding the attack, while the authorities in
Stepanakert kept silent altogether. The reserved tone of the Armenian
authorities was interpreted as a decision to avoid further escalation
of conflict by using inflammatory rhetoric.
P.S. When the Azerbaijani attack was reported on Saturday, it somehow
reminded of the Georgian-Russian war which started on the day when the
Olympic games were starting in China. Likewise, much of worlds
attention is glued to the Football World Cup these days¦
From: A. Papazian