In recent days, we have had the most serious aggravation of the military situation since November 9; Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this live on Facebook Monday.
"Last Saturday, taking advantage of the fact that the Russian peacekeepers have not been deployed in that area yet, the special detachments of the Azerbaijani forces launched an attack on the villages of Hin Tagher, Khtsaberd of Hadrut [region] of Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)], and took control of those settlements. There was no civilian population in that area. Six servicemen of the Artsakh Defense Army were wounded during the operations. There is information about other victims, which is being clarified. The place where there may be victims is inaccessible at this moment; measures are being taken to ensure access there," he said.
Pashinyan reminded that Sunday at the Security Council meeting he had said that it was a subject of discussion why the Russian peacekeepers were not deployed in that area. "It is a fact that on weekends the peacekeepers were deployed there, as well as they published a map in their area of responsibility, which includes the surrounding and adjacent area—the villages of Khtsaberd, Taghavart. This means that Russian peacekeepers must ensure that the status of the territory is in line with the provisions of the November 9 trilateral statement. And this means that since the area was under the control of Armenian forces, it must remain under the control of Armenian forces.
Of course, the actions taken by Azerbaijan are provocative, but they are aimed also at devaluing the presence of Russian peacekeepers. They [the Azerbaijanis] want to show that the peacekeepers are unable to stop the provocations launched by them, and the fate of the Khtsaberd, Hin Tagher sector is the first serious test for Russian peacekeepers," Pashinyan also said, in particular.
On November 9, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement on a complete cessation of hostilities— which Azerbaijan had launched on September 27—in and around Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Accordingly, Russian peacekeepers are deployed in the region to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities. But this statement also stipulates the handover of part of Artsakh lands to Azerbaijan.
