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* Armenia and Azerbaijan are for clashes
* Putin to calm the situation, says kremlin
* Turkey commits to Azerbaijan
* The intensity of the has decreased – Armenian Prime Minister
U. S. and France urge an end to hostilities (Turkish official, analyst adds)
By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber
TBILISI, Sept 13 (Reuters) – At least 49 Armenian infantrymen and an unknown number of Azeris were killed on Tuesday in the deadliest fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia since the 2020 war, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to call for calm.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have blamed others for the resumption of fighting that began overnight at several locations along their border, raising fears of some other major clash in the former Soviet Union as the Russian military is stranded in Ukraine.
Russia has peacekeepers in the clash zone between Azero and Armenia as a guarantor of a war that ended a six-week war in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh two years ago.
Yerevan said Azerbaijan had bombed towns near the border, adding Jermuk, Goris and Kapan, forcing it to react. Baku said Armenian sabotage teams tried to undermine Azeri positions and began firing.
Reuters could not immediately determine battlefield accounts on either side.
“It is difficult to overestimate the role of the Russian Federation, the role of Putin personally,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“The president is naturally doing everything he can to defuse tensions at the border. “
UKRAINE AND THE CAUCASUS
Russia’s war in Ukraine has undermined its prestige as a guarantor of security in the region, leaving room for Azerbaijan to make more claims, according to Laurence Broers, a research associate of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House tank.
Azerbaijan, which is politically and culturally connected to Turkey, made territorial gains in 2020, regaining land it had lost to ethnic Armenians in an earlier war against Nagorno-Karabakh 30 years earlier.
“Since February, we have also noticed the collapse of Russia’s reputation as head of security and security provider in the region,” Broers said. “This created a window of opportunity for Azerbaijan, reminding us that the final results of the war of the moment in 2020 left paintings unfinished. “
The CSTO, a Russian-led military alliance of former Soviet states that includes Armenia but not Azerbaijan, met Tuesday to discuss the situation.
Turkey reiterated its support for its ally, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, quoted through his ministry as saying that Turkey “will continue with him (Azerbaijan) in his just causes. “
“The duty of provocation, clashes and casualties falls on the political-military leaders of Armenia,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said. “Any action against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be resolutely prevented. “
BORDER COMBAT
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of attacking Armenian cities because it did not want to negotiate the prestige of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave within Azerbaijan but populated primarily by ethnic Armenians.
He said the intensity of hostilities had decreased. Azerbaijan’s attacks continued.
Azerbaijan, which accused Armenia of conducting intelligence activities along the border and moving weapons, said its military positions had been attacked through Armenia. He said he suffered losses but revealed the number of casualties.
Azerbaijani media reported that a ceasefire agreement was damaged almost without delay after it was implemented early Tuesday.
Russia and the United States, at odds over the war in Ukraine, have in Baku and Yerevan to exercise restraint.
“As we have made it transparent for a long time, there can be no military solution to the conflict,” U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “We call for a swift end to all hostilities by the army. “
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan “should be resolved exclusively by political and diplomatic means. “
The defense ministers of Armenia and Russia held talks on Tuesday morning and agreed to take steps to stabilize the border. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov and called on Armenia to “stop its provocations. “
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, also suggested that the parties relax. Michel met last month in Brussels with President Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss normalization between countries, humanitarian issues and the prospect of a peace treaty in Nagorno-Karabakh. .
The EU’s special representative, Toivo Klaar, had to stop in any of the countries to fight violence.
France will discuss clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the UN Security Council, President Emmanuel Macron said, adding that Macron continues to urge both sides to respect a ceasefire. (Additional reports via Nailia Bagirova, Jake Cordell, Maxim Rodionov and Sabine Seibold; Edited by Andrew Heavens, Guy Faulconbridge, Ed Osmond, Peter Graff)