Pashinyan says Armenia opens "hot line" with Azerbaijan

Pashinyan says Armenia opens "hot line" with Azerbaijan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday that Armenia has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan to establish a "hotline" between the heads of their defense agencies after last week's deadly clashes on the border. The UNN writes this, citing Pashinyan's Facebook press conference.

 

Nikol Pashinyan said during an online press conference that contacts between Armenian and Azerbaijani officials should become more frequent to "help stabilize the situation, find solutions and try to avoid crises."

 

Pashinyan added that six Armenian soldiers were killed and 32 others taken prisoner by Azerbaijanis during the November 16 clashes, which were the worst since the fighting in 2020. Azerbaijan said seven of its soldiers were killed at the time.

 

A dispute has arisen between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces that Armenia has supported since the 1994 war there ended.

 

In the fall of 2020, the Azerbaijani military defeated Armenian forces in 44 days of fierce fighting that ended in a Russian-brokered peace agreement that gave Azerbaijan control of much of Nagorno-Karabakh and recaptured all regions controlled by Armenian forces.

 

Russia sent nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to oversee the peace agreement.

 

The peace agreement was celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan, but was perceived as a "betrayal" by the opposition in Armenia. Pashinian defended his position as the only way to prevent Armenian troops from losing control of the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

 

We note that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to sit Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the negotiating table in the city of Sochi on Friday.

 

Pashinyan and Aliyev are also expected to meet in Brussels for talks under the auspices of the EU on December 15.





Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday that Armenia has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan to establish a "hotline" between the heads of their defense agencies after last week's deadly clashes on the border. The UNN writes this, citing Pashinyan's Facebook press conference.

 

Nikol Pashinyan said during an online press conference that contacts between Armenian and Azerbaijani officials should become more frequent to "help stabilize the situation, find solutions and try to avoid crises."

 

Pashinyan added that six Armenian soldiers were killed and 32 others taken prisoner by Azerbaijanis during the November 16 clashes, which were the worst since the fighting in 2020. Azerbaijan said seven of its soldiers were killed at the time.

 

A dispute has arisen between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces that Armenia has supported since the 1994 war there ended.

 

In the fall of 2020, the Azerbaijani military defeated Armenian forces in 44 days of fierce fighting that ended in a Russian-brokered peace agreement that gave Azerbaijan control of much of Nagorno-Karabakh and recaptured all regions controlled by Armenian forces.

 

Russia sent nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to oversee the peace agreement.

 

The peace agreement was celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan, but was perceived as a "betrayal" by the opposition in Armenia. Pashinian defended his position as the only way to prevent Armenian troops from losing control of the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

 

We note that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to sit Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the negotiating table in the city of Sochi on Friday.

 

Pashinyan and Aliyev are also expected to meet in Brussels for talks under the auspices of the EU on December 15.