Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Karabakh-related top news as of 14.10.2020:

 

BOY INJURED

https://news.am/eng/news/607883.html

While going to the field to work, a 14-year-old Armenian boy was injured after being hit by an Azerbaijani unmanned aerial vehicle in the Armenian territory, the health ministry spokesperson Alina Nikoghosyan wrote on her Facebook.

The boy was hospitalized with several injuries and is currently at the intensive care unit, she noted adding that doctors say the boy is in critical condition.

 

BORDER SITUATION

https://news.am/eng/news/607836.html

The Azerbaijani armed forces continue to violate the humanitarian ceasefire once again targeting peaceful settlements and villages in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Artsakh Defense Army reported on Wednesday as of 12:30.

"In addition to carrying out missile and artillery strikes at the city of Martakert, today the enemy also used military aviation in that direction," the statement added.

 

JET SHOT DOWN

https://news.am/eng/news/607819.html

The air defense units of the Artsakh Defense Army have shot down one Su-25 fighter jet of the Azerbaijani armed forces that used military aircraft in the northeastern direction of Artsakh, Armenian defense ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan reported Wednesday morning.

 

ARTSAKH PRESIDENT CALLS

https://news.am/eng/news/607846.html

Artsakh President Arayik Haroutyunyan has delivered a video message to all Armenians amid the large-scale war unleashed by Azerbaijan, Turkey, and international terrorism against Artsakh and the Armenian people.

According to him, the enemy was able to move forward in some places, gain an advantage in some places.

"We understand that there is only one way to force the enemy to follow the path of a ceasefire - to force them to a ceasefire," he noted.

"We are in favor of starting without preconditions the responsibility of the humanitarian mission we have assumed," he added urging Armenians to participate not only materially but also physically.

"I expect the active participation of my brothers, Karabakh people living in the diaspora, our brothers living in Armenia," Haroutyunyan noted.

 

PM'S STATEMENT

https://news.am/rus/news/607851.html

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has also issued a statement.

The PM noted that in the negotiation process on the Karabakh issue, Azerbaijan, step by step, reached a point where, in fact, it put before the Armenian people, living Karabakh, a demand to renounce their own rights. The essence of this requirement is as follows: immediately transfer 5 out of 7 districts to Baku, submit a specific schedule for the transfer of the remaining two territories, and also state that Nagorno-Karabakh should have some status within Azerbaijan.

Moreover, the clarification of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, as Azerbaijan demanded, should not have been in any causal connection with the process of the surrender of territories.

"Our Cabinet, which received this negotiating base as a legacy, in fact, refused to discuss the issue in this way, because it is unacceptable," he added.

According to him, during the Azerbaijani-Turkish military drills, it became clear that the Azerbaijani army was not capable of solving a specific task. And thus Turkey decided to take the initiative of solving the Karabakh issue, the PM noted.

The PM added that Azerbaijan did not adhere to a ceasefire deal and continues its attacks.

 

RUSSIA ON SITUATION

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https://news.am/eng/news/607844.html

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu has held talks with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts Davit Tonoyan and Zakir Hasanov. He called on the sides to fulfill the agreements reached in Moscow on the Nagorno-Karabakh clashes.

Meanwhile, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says Russian soldiers are verifying the report on Azerbaijan’s strikes in the direction of Armenia’s territory following the Armenian defense ministry's statement in this regard.

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov, in turn, told Russian media it is necessary to meet immediately with the military and agree on the same ceasefire monitoring mechanism mentioned in the OSCE Minsk Group document that no one has even started discussing yet.

According to him, OSCE Minsk Group proposals remain on negotiating table, and five regions envisioned to be released.

"All the agreements that have been discussed recently and adopted by both sides presupposed that in the first phase five regions are envisioned to be released, and in the second phase—with the preservation of two regions—the status of Karabakh to be defined," he noted.

Lavrov said that peacekeepers must be deployed to monitor the maintenance of the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Lavrov also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was following the talks between the Armenia and Azerbaijan FMs on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

The FM added that Russia has never viewed Turkey as its strategic ally, adding that Turkey is viewed as a strategic partner.

 

WSJ ON MILITANTS

https://news.am/eng/news/607805.html

The Wall Street Journal claims that hundreds of Turkish-linked militants have moved from Syria to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

As per the respective article, hundreds of fighters from Syrian militias allied with Turkey have joined the fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, and hundreds more are preparing to go, according to two Syrians involved in the effort.

The Syrian rebel, who has been charged with preparing spreadsheets of men enlisting to go to Nagorno-Karabakh, said many were lured by monthly salaries of up to $2,000.