Weekly update
18 July
Azerbaijan’s ORBITER-3 UAV struck by the air defense forces of Artsakh was most probably a reconnaissance drone, the coordinator of the Armenian Unified Infocenter Artsrun Hovhannisyan said during the press briefing today, Lragir.am informed. According to him, the drone was downed with an OSA-AKM system which has been modernized by the military-industrial complex. “Our enterprises have mastered the modernization of OSA-AKM and as we can see it is very effective,” he said. Artsrun Hovhannisyan said it was proven that none of divisions of the “glorious” in brackets Azerbaijani army demonstrated high defense capability and effectiveness, even the special troops. “The UAVs are left which are very expensive, are mainly bought from Israel. Azerbaijan seems to use mainly Israeli UAVs which do not lead to major results. These amounts are withheld from the common people and spent in this direction,” he said.
17 July
American-Armenian reality TV superstar Kim Kardashian West once again expressed her support for Armenia on the background of the recent escalation of tension on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Kim Kardashain called on Senators and Representatives to support Armenia, informed MASSISPOST. “Despite an ongoing global pandemic, Azerbaijan has violated the UN’s appeal for global ceasefire against the Republic of Armenia. Civilian structures in Armenia have been targeted, and Azerbaijan has now threatened to bomb the nuclear power plant in Armenia,” Kim Kardashian said on an Instagram story. She noted that in the meantime, the US congressional amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act will be voted on next week to ensure that the US does not enable Azerbaijan with military aid that would be used against Armenia and Artsakh. “The international community needs to pay attention and intervene now with such political and diplomatic measures to prevent unnecessary escalation and the loss of human life. I stand with my fellow Armenians and pray for those that are involved in recent tensions on the border of the country,” Kim Kardashian said. She urged for a peaceful resolution during this already very difficult pandemic. “Please call on your Senators and Representatives to support Armenia,” Kardashian said.
16 July
The threats voiced by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan to launch missile attacks at the Armenian Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant indicate the level of desperation and the crisis of mind of the political-military leadership of Azerbaijan, ARMENPRESS reports reads the statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of Armenia over the threats of the Azerbaijani defense ministry to strike the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant of Armenia. ''The actions threatened by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan are a flagrant violation of the International Humanitarian Law in general and the First Additional Protocol to Geneva Conventions in particular. Such threats are an explicit demonstration of state terrorism and genocidal intent of Azerbaijan. Moreover, with such statements the leadership of Azerbaijan acts as a menace to all the peoples of the region, including its own people. We strongly condemn the nuclear threats voiced by Azerbaijan, which demonstrate absolute absence of responsibility and sound judgement from this particular member of the international community. Azerbaijan must publicly denounce such threats at once’', reads the statement.
15 July
On July 12, following the attack by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the direction of the Tavush region of the Republic of Armenia, the leadership of Turkey, including the President, the Foreign Minister and the Minister of Defense issued a number of official statements, informed PANORAMA.am. As the Armenia’s foreign ministry reported, these statements not only contain commitment of unconditional support to Azerbaijan, but also exhibit clear regional ambitions towards the South Caucasus, which the President of Turkey, along with other officials, attempt to substantiate by referring to Turkey’s “historic mission” in the region. “Invoking its historical mission and ethnic or religious affiliations, Turkey has already destabilized the situation in a number of neighboring regions: the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa causing immeasurable sufferings to the peoples of those regions,” the ministry said, adding that in 21st century, Turkey builds its policy in our region on the traditions of kinship, justification of the Armenian Genocide and the impunity of that crime. “Turkey’s provocative and biased stance seriously undermines the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and proves that Turkey can not be involved in any international processes related to the conflict and first and foremost within the OSCE framework. With its approaches, Turkey is a security threat for Armenia and the region, and broad regional and international cooperation is needed to counter it,” the statement said.
14 July
The EU calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to strictly respect the ceasefire after both reported a serious incident at their bilateral border, involving the use of heavy weapons, which led to the loss of lives, said ARAVOT.am. “The EU urges both sides to stop the armed confrontation, refrain from action and rhetoric that provoke tension, and undertake immediate measures to prevent further escalation. In this context, both sides should make use of their mechanism for direct communication, the established format led by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office,” Peter Stano, lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement. “This serious ceasefire violation highlights the urgency of resuming the OSCE monitoring on the ground, as soon as conditions allow,” he added. “The EU calls on the sides to strictly respect the ceasefire, devote energy and resources to fighting the coronavirus pandemic, meaningfully re-engage in substantive negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and prepare their populations for peace,” the statement reads.
13 July
The United States has condemned the recently reported fighting along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, urging the two countries to refrain from using force to avoid further escalations, informed TERT.am. In a statement released on Monday (July 13), Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Orgatus also expressed the administration's commitment to help the sides achieve a lasting peace over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). "The United States condemns in the strongest terms the violence along the Armenia-Azerbaijan international border. We urge the sides to stop using force immediately, use the existing direct communication links between them to avoid further escalation, and strictly adhere to the ceasefire. "As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States remains strongly committed to helping the sides achieve a lasting, peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We will remain actively engaged in efforts to accomplish that goal. "The United States joins the Minsk Group Co-Chairs in calling for the sides to resume substantive negotiations as soon as possible and in emphasizing the importance of returning OSCE monitors to the region as soon as circumstances allow," reads the official text of the statement.
12 July
At around 12:30pm on Sunday, the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces attempted to violate the state border of the Republic of Armenia, in the direction of Tavush Province, and with an UAZ-model vehicle, reported NEWS.am. Shushan Stepanyan, spokesperson for the defense minister of Armenia, wrote about this on her Facebook page. "After the warning of the Armenian side, the Azerbaijani servicemen returned to their position, leaving the UAZ-model vehicle behind. At 1:45pm, the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces repeated—using artillery fire—the attempt to seize the border position of the Armenian Armed Forces, but were suppressed by the Armenian side and driven back, suffering casualties. There are no casualties on the Armenian side," she added.
Sources: https://armenpress.am/eng/, https://news.am/eng/, https://www.aravot-en.am/, https://www.lragir.am/en/, https://www.panorama.am/en/, https://www.tert.am/en/, https://massispost.com/.