Armenia has called for clarification of Russian peacekeepers mandate in Karabakh, said Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday.
He recalled that as a result of the fighting, 19 servicemen of the Karabakh Defense Army were injured, two died.
“I ask you to honor the memory of the fallen soldiers with a minute of silence. We wish the wounded soldiers a speedy recovery.
"A number of events taking place these days, and those that have happened before, reveal issues of a systemic nature. I have repeatedly said that the presence and activity of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh is a key factor in ensuring the security of the Karabakh Armenians, and we highly appreciate the efforts of Russia to ensure stability and peace in our region.
"But a number of events that have taken place in Nagorno-Karabakh since November 2020, including the events of recent days, have raised questions from the Armenian public about the content and nature of the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"On December 11, 2020, the capture by Azerbaijan of the villages of Khtsaberd and Khin Tager, the capture of Armenian servicemen in the presence and with the connivance of Russian peacekeepers, the capture of the village of Parukh in Nagorno-Karabakh on March 24, 2022 and again in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, constant and increasing ceasefire violations along the line of contact , cases of physical and psychological terror against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in the presence of peacekeepers - all this is simply unacceptable.
"In this context, there is an urgent need to clarify the details of the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. This was necessary from the very beginning, along with the deployment of peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, it should be recognized that Azerbaijan directly interfered with this process by refusing to sign a mandate for the activities of peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia, however, did this back in November 2020, and we expect that the mandate, signed in a bilateral format, will work in full.
"There are a number of institutional issues related to this topic. In particular, the third paragraph of the November 9, 2020 statement clearly states that there is a line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh along which Russian peacekeeping forces are stationed.
"And it is this territory that is called the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. Therefore, we expect that any attempt to cross the line of contact will be stopped by the Russian peacekeeping forces, and the Azerbaijani units that find themselves inside will be withdrawn to their original positions.
"Returning to the topic of the mandate of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, I must repeat: in our opinion, the signatures of Armenia and Russia are sufficient for the full implementation of this mandate. Well, if not, then steps should be taken to establish this mandate at the international level or give the peacekeepers a broader international mandate.
"I do not want to reveal a large number of working details now, however, these issues have been bothering us since November 2020. We have made efforts to achieve concrete solutions, and now these efforts should be doubled and tripled," the PM said.
