Image source: topwar.ru
The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that an emergency meeting of the members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation was held under the chairmanship of the head of state Vladimir Putin. In particular, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was discussed at the meeting. The meeting participants stressed the need to comply with the terms of the trilateral agreement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. As part of the agreement, Russian peacekeepers monitor the observance of the ceasefire regime on the demarcation line.
The meeting also discussed the upcoming face-to-face meeting of the Presidents of Russia Vladimir Putin and Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which will take place tomorrow in Sochi. At the meeting, the two leaders will discuss issues of cooperation between the two countries, as well as the situation in Libya, Afghanistan and Syria. Peskov did not rule out that the presidents would also raise the issue of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The situation in this Transcaucasian region escalated on the eve of an armed clash between Azerbaijani servicemen and soldiers of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, supported by Armenia. The sides accused each other of provocations.
The Ministry of Defense of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic reported that eight Armenian servicemen were wounded and one was killed as a result of shelling from the Azerbaijani side. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that he expects resolute actions from Russian peacekeepers to stop attempts to violate the truce on the contact line. He also called on Russia to expand the powers of peacekeepers within the framework of the mandate signed by Yerevan and Moscow, which Baku has so far refused to recognize.
In turn, Baku stated that the Azerbaijani army carried out the operation "Retaliation" in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was a response to the "illegal actions of the Armenian armed formations" and accused the NKR of violating the ceasefire.
At the moment, representatives of the Russian peacekeeping contingent have taken measures to de-escalate the situation along the contact line.
