Four Artsakh soldiers killed by Azerbaijani forces (Artsakh Ombudsman, June 28)
Four Armenian soldiers were killed today in Artsakh by Azerbaijani forces, according to Artsakh authorities.
In the early morning hours of June 28, Azerbaijani forces opened fire on Artsakh Defense Army positions in Martuni and Martakert, deploying artillery systems and combat drones. Artsakh Defense Army soldiers Armo Abgaryan, Samvel Torosyan, Yervand Tadevosyan and Gagik Balayan were killed, according to the Artsakh Defense Ministry.
The Artsakh Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijan spread “false reports” about a ceasefire violation by Artsakh in order to create an “informational basis for another provocation.” On June 27, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that its armed forces took “retaliatory measures” after an Azerbaijani soldier was injured in a ceasefire violation.
This is the largest death toll amid frequent reports of ceasefire violations in Artsakh and along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating the ceasefire nearly every day for months. Today’s attacks follow a week of ceasefire violations by Azerbaijani forces against Artsakh soldiers, as well as civilians.
On June 27, Azerbaijani armed forces launched a mortar in the direction of the Martakert region. Azerbaijani forces previously deployed small arms toward the Martakert, Martuni, Askeran and Shushi regions on June 25, and Martakert, Martuni and Askeran on June 22. Artsakh Defense Army soldier Mher Hakobyan received a gunshot wound in the June 22 attack.
Azerbaijani forces have also fired on civilians and civilian objects in Artsakh several times in the past week.
On June 25, 22-year-old Mikayel Mezhlumyan was fired on while working with a tractor near Myurishen village in Martuni. That same day, Azerbaijani forces fired on a tractor in the Avdur village of Martuni.
On June 22, the roof of a house belonging to Zori Arakelyan, a resident of Chankatagh village in Martakert, was damaged by Azerbaijani fire. Azerbaijani forces also fired on a tractor in the Chartar village in Martuni that day.
A coalition of all of the parties in the Artsakh parliament released a joint statement on June 28 urging the Armenian delegation conducting negotiations on an Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty in Washington to immediately halt talks. It said the negotiations should not continue “until the establishment of a full ceasefire on the line of contact with Artsakh and the borders of Armenia.”
“Otherwise, the continuation of negotiations will mean encouraging the aggressive behavior of the Azerbaijani side and privilege at the international level,” the statement reads.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are in Washington this week for three days of talks mediated by the U.S. scheduled to end on June 29. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov held separate meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the first day of negotiations on June 27.
“We support Armenia and Azerbaijan working together toward a durable and dignified agreement. Dialogue is key to lasting peace,” Blinken tweeted on June 27.
Mirzoyan and Bayramov previously met in Washington for marathon talks from May 1-4 to negotiate a peace deal titled “Agreement on normalization of relations.” American and Azerbaijani leaders struck an optimistic tone after the talks, stating that significant progress was made on a peace deal. Armenian authorities, however, said that disagreements remained on fundamental issues. Namely, Azerbaijan has not agreed to the creation of an international mechanism to oversee talks between Artsakh and Azerbaijan.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia is ready to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, which would include Azerbaijani control over Artsakh. He has also called for direct talks between Baku and Stepanakert, overseen by an international mechanism, and special guarantees for the rights and security of the Armenian population of Artsakh. Azerbaijan has so far rejected these measures, insisting that talks between Azerbaijan and Artsakh are a domestic matter.
During an interview with Reuters published on June 23, Bayramov said that special guarantees for the rights and security of Artsakh Armenians are unnecessary. He said that the Armenians of Artsakh would be subject to the same constitutional principles and international conventions as ethnic and religious minorities in Azerbaijan.
Senior Analyst for the South Caucasus at the International Crisis Group Olesya Vartanyan said that the outcome of the talks largely depends on Azerbaijan’s position moving forward. “Azerbaijan is undoubtedly aware that a mass exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh driven by fear and uncertainty would result in substantial global repercussions, potentially impeding the country in various ways,” Vartanyan said in an analysis for openDemocracy. “By heeding international appeals and entering the talks with Stepanakert, Baku can reassure Armenians that they would have a chance to continue living in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
In response to the June 28 escalation, Pashinyan warned of a “high risk of destabilization” in the region. “Urging international community to take practical steps to ensure rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh people. Meanwhile Lachin Corridor remains illegally blocked, tonight as result of Azerbaijani attack with use of UAVs there are four casualties,” Pashinayn tweeted.
Azerbaijan has blockaded the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor, the sole route connecting Artsakh with Armenia and the outside world, since December 2022, leading to critical shortages of food and medical supplies. Since June 15, Azerbaijan has tightened the blockade by prohibiting humanitarian shipments, which had been delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Russian peacekeepers.
The ICRC had also been prevented from transporting medical patients awaiting treatment from Artsakh to Armenia. On June 24, Russian peacekeepers transported a one-year-old child diagnosed with acute hemorrhagic encephalitis by helicopter to a medical center in Armenia. The ICRC resumed the transfer of medical patients to Armenia by ambulance on June 28.
Government-backed Azerbaijani protesters posing as eco-activists had closed the Berdzor Corridor from December 12, 2022 to April 23, 2023. They ended their protest after Azerbaijan set up a military checkpoint at the entrance to the corridor from Armenia, placing movement along the corridor completely under the control of Azerbaijani border guards. On June 23, Artsakh authorities published a video reportedly showing Azerbaijani guards installing concrete barricades along the corridor.