Aliyev: Azerbaijan will take all Nagorno-Karabakh if Armenia ‘acts negatively’

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has warned that his country’s army will take all Nagorno-Karabakh region if Armenia “acts negatively,” while assuring that the conflict between the two sides over the disputed region could be settled after three decades of talks.

The contested region, home to ethnic Armenian people, is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it has been under the control of Armenian-backed separatists since the early 1990s.

Since September 27, a new wave of clashes – the worst in decades – has erupted between Azeri troops and Armenian-backed separatists of the breakaway region, with both Yerevan and Baku accusing each other of provocation.

Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed, including many civilians, since the onset of the fierce clashes, with the international community repeatedly calling on both warring sides to agree to an immediate and unconditional truce.

Speaking to Turkish broadcaster NTV on Thursday, Aliyev said Azeri troops already controlled two of Karabakh’s five major regions and that they would take them all unless Armenia agreed to pull out its forces of the area under a specific timetable.

The Azeri president, however, added that international bodies, such as the OSCE’s Minsk group, could step in to resolve the issue after 28 years of failed talks, referring to a process that France, Russia, and the United States have led for decades to work out a permeant solution to the Karabakh conflict, but all to no avail.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Armenia, Azerbaijan continue to trade fire, blame

Fighting between Azeri and Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory is continuing despite a recent ceasefire, with the two sides repeatedly accusing each other of violating the truce.

Asked about a Russian proposal to deploy military observers to Nagorno-Karabakh, Aliyev said such a move should be discussed towards the end of the conflict and it could would require Azerbaijan's approval.

A Russia-brokered temporary ceasefire came into force midday Saturday in a bid to allow for the exchange of prisoners and the recovery of dead bodies in the flashpoint region. However, the truce has been violated multiple times, with the two sides accusing each other of the breach.

Red Cross warns of humanitarian, health crisis in Karabakh

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned of humanitarian and health crisis in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region amid continued fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia despite a ceasefire.

Karabakh solution must be acceptable to all: Armenia’s PM

Separately on Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Yerevan was ready to implement agreements of the Moscow-mediated truce to put an end to the ongoing conflict.  

He also noted that a compromise acceptable to all must be found.

Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan's president, in an interview with RIA Novosti, had said that Moscow was Baku’s strategic partner and that the Kremlin would continue to play a leading role in seeking a solution.

Iran proposes ancillary mechanism to Minsk Group to help Karabakh settlement

Iran proposes formation of a trilateral mechanism boosting the Minsk Group to help resolve the Karabakh dispute.

The renewed fighting has increased concern that Turkey, which fully backs Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a defense pact with Armenia, could be sucked into the conflict.

The growing clashes have also aroused international concern over stability in the South Caucasus, where pipelines carry Azerbaijan’s oil and gas to world markets.

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