The pacts to avoid an open war over Nagorno-Karabakh, reached at the end of 2020, were put in danger again in the early hours of this September 13 when Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed clashes on the common border. The Armenian government sought military support from Russia, which could open an unwanted confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with his army involved in the conflict with Ukraine for more than six months. Moscow mediated in the conflict and has announced a ceasefire, but it was soon broken again.
Yerevan denounced that it was suffering from bombardments on the southeastern border of the country. Baku accused his neighbor of mining supply routes and shelling his positions.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced in the Yerevan parliament that Azerbaijan had attacked the border at seven different points. According to his words, 49 Armenian soldiers died during the night, a figure that could be higher.
Earlier, the Armenian Security Council, chaired by Pashinián, met and invoked the mutual assistance treaty it has with Russia, which establishes joint defense and military assistance in the event of aggression against the signatories.
"It has been officially decided to appeal to the Russian Federation to use the provisions of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance," the Armenian government statement said. According to the Russian agency Tass, the Yerevan authorities have already formalized their request to Moscow.
Moscow has again mediated between the two enemies of the Caucasus and on Tuesday morning announced a ceasefire between Yerevan and Baku. "We hope that the ceasefire agreement reached with Russian mediation and which entered into force at 09:00 Moscow time on September 13, will be fully implemented," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry expressed "extreme concern" and called on the parties to "refrain from further escalation of the situation, exercise restraint and strictly observe the ceasefire." But according to Azerbaijani media, the agreement was broken shortly after.
Armenia will also address the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military organization made up of six former Soviet republics led by Moscow; as well as the United Nations Security Council.
The CSTO, made up of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, can provide military assistance if one of the member states suffers aggression. For this reason, he sent a "peacekeeping mission" to Kazakhstan during the unrest last January.
The former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars for control of Nagorno-Karabakh. The first in the 1990s. The second, in 2020. The latter ended with 6,500 dead and a ceasefire reached with the mediation of Russia.
This flare-up of violence between the traditional enemies of the Caucasus is the latest in a series of skirmishes that have occurred on a regular basis since the end of the 2020 war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
As every time these confrontations have taken place, the parties blame each other for the resumption of hostilities.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said that after midnight on September 13, Azerbaijani troops began shelling border settlements in the southeast of the country with artillery and drones.
In the Baku version, it is the Armenian military who during the night mined the supply routes of the Azerbaijani army and fired on their positions with mortars and other weapons, killing people and damaging military infrastructure.
"As a result of urgent measures taken by our units to immediately prevent these actions, a battle took place," Azerbaijan reported.
