India demanded on Tuesday that the “aggressor side” in recent violence along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border “immediately cease hostilities” and emphasised that diplomatic and diplomatic-like means should be used to settle bilateral concerns.
Speaking on behalf of the minister of external affairs, Arindam Bagchi stated: “We have heard allegations of attacks along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, including targeting of civilian populations and infrastructure on September 12-13, 2022. We demand that hostilities stop right away from the side that is provoking them.
We think that bilateral conflicts should be resolved by diplomacy and negotiation, he continued. There is no conflict that can be resolved militarily. To find a durable and amicable solution, we urge both parties to continue talking.
According to Armenia, at least 49 of its soldiers died in clashes near the Azerbaijani border, and the attacks were carried out as a result of a disagreement over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
However, Azerbaijan said that its soldiers returned fire in order to stop Armenia’s military from engaging in “large-scale provocations.”
After fighting broke out on the border between the two countries this week, Russia claimed on Tuesday that it helped broker a cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The ceasefire, however, was reportedly already broken, according to the local media outlet.
According to a statement from Russia’s foreign ministry, Moscow urged the two nations to “refrain from further escalation of the situation, exercise restraint and strictly observe the ceasefire in accordance with the trilateral statements of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia from November 9, 2020, January 11, and November 26, 2021.”
Russia said that it took action after receiving a request to “help in settling the situation” from Armenia’s government.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began after the Soviet Union fell apart in the late 1980s. Despite being on Azerbaijani soil, the area is governed by ethnic Armenians. The last time the two nations fought was in 2020.
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