Pompeo to meet Armenian, Azeri ministers over Nagorno-Karabakh fighting
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[October 23, 2020]
By Nailia Bagirova and Nvard Hovhannisyan
BAKU/YEREVAN (Reuters) - Azerbaijan and
ethnic Armenian forces clashed in several areas of Nagorno-Karabakh on
Friday, hours before talks were due to start in Washington to try to end
the deadliest fighting in the mountain enclave for over a quarter of a
century.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to meet the foreign
ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in a new attempt to end nearly a
month of bloodshed in which Russian President Vladimir Putin said 5,000
people may have been killed.
The collapse of two Russia-brokered ceasefires has also dimmed hopes of
a quick end to fighting that broke out on Sept. 27 over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway territory which is within Azerbaijan but
is controlled by ethnic Armenians.
World powers want to prevent the fighting sparking a wider war that
draws in Turkey and Russia, and are concerned about the security of
pipelines in Azerbaijan that carry Azeri gas and oil through the South
Caucasus to world markets.
In the latest clashes, Azerbaijan's defence ministry reported fighting
in several areas, including territories close to the line of contact
that divides the sides.
Armenia's defence ministry also reported fighting in several areas and
said the town of Martuni in Nagorno-Karabakh was shelled again during
the night.
Pompeo is expected to hold separate talks with Azeri Foreign Minister
Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. It is
not clear whether the two former Soviet republics' ministers will meet
directly.
"I very much hope that our American partners will act in unison with us
and will help the settlement," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on
Thursday, adding that he speaks to leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan
several times a day by phone.
Putin said Moscow believed more than 2,000 people had been killed on
each side during the recent flare-up. The decades-old conflict led to a
1991-94 war in which about 30,000 people were killed and Azerbaijan’s
troops were pushed out.
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives at Downing Street in
London, Britain, July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo
"RIGHT PATH FORWARD"
Pompeo said this week he hoped a diplomatic solution and the "right
path forward" could be found as the United States, France and Russia
press on with mediation efforts they have led for decades.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said he can see no
diplomatic resolution of the long-running conflict at this stage.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev says the prospects of reaching a peace
settlement are "very remote", and demanded promises that Azerbaijan
will be handed back control of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenians regard Nagorno-Karabakh as part of their historic homeland
and accuse Azerbaijan of making a land grab in the recent fighting.
Azeri forces, bolstered by weapons bought from Turkey, say they have
made territorial gains, including full control over the border with
Iran, though Nagorno-Karabakh says its forces have repeatedly
repulsed attacks.
Turkey has said it would send soldiers and provide military support
for Azerbaijan if such a request were made by its ally.
Putin said Russia, which has a defence pact with Armenia, disagreed
with Turkey on Nagorno-Karabakh, but both countries needed to find a
compromise.
(Additional reporting by Margarita Antidze, writing by Timothy
Heritage, editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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