Artsakh is left alone: Russian peacekeepers practically do not fulfill their obligations, the democratic West has turned its back on us, and Armenia has turned its back. Adviser to the president of Artsakh, former Foreign Minister of the Republic David Babayan has told Reuters.
According to him, the Armenians of Artsakh feel abandoned by Russia, the West and Armenia. He noted that many important issues have not yet been agreed upon with Azerbaijan.
"We have agreement on the cessation of military action, but we await a final agreement - talks are going on, we'll see" Babayan, said by phone.
In accordance with the ceasefire agreement brokered by Russian peacekeepers, the Defense Army should be disbanded and all weapons handed over for disposal.
However, answering a question about not handing over weapons, Babayan said that the people of Artsakh cannot be left to die, and therefore security guarantees are needed first.
"We need to talk through many questions and issues. A whole host of questions still need to be resolved. We do not know what guarantee of security our people will get - this needs to be resolved. At any moment they could destroy us, engage in genocide against us - do you Reuters understand this? The West is silent, Russia is silent, Armenia is silent. What should we do?" he said.
Babayan scolded the world for leaving his people at the mercy of Azerbaijan. "It feels like Constantinople in 1453 - we are besieged and surrounded," he said. "The overwhelming majority of the people here do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan - I do not know what will happen. Karabakh has been left on its own: Russian peacekeepers practically don't fulfil their obligations, the democratic West turned away from us, and Armenia also turned away," he added.
Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack against Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19. Nagorno-Karabakh has confirmed that 200 people have died and more than 400 wounded, including civilians, because of Azerbaijan’s aggression. Azerbaijani opposition media that report that 80 Azerbaijani soldiers have died during the military aggression.
On September 20, the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh accepted the proposal of the command of the Russian peacekeeping mission regarding the cessation of fire. The proposal by Azerbaijan envisages the withdrawal of the remaining units and servicemen of the RA Armed Forces from the deployment zone of the Russian peacekeeper and the dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh armed formations; the complete disarmament of the Defense Army, as well as the withdrawal of heavy equipment and weapons from the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in order to quickly eliminate them.
The Azerbaijani forces resumed the fire on Stepanakert today while a delegation representing Nagorno-Karabakh was holding a meeting with Azerbaijani representatives in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh to discuss the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and further actions. Following the meeting, the delegation said that no final agreement was reached and that the details must be agreed upon.
