YEREVAN, October 12. /ARKA/. The Armenian foreign ministry responded today to the statement of the Turkish foreign ministry’s statement. “Today the Foreign Ministry of Turkey issued a statement which contains a number of groundless accusations against the Republic of Armenia,” the Armenian foreign ministry says in its statement.
“It’s obvious that Turkey, with participation of which the military aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) was preplanned and still continues, does not give up its stance of further destabilizing the situation and undermining the agreements reached.”
The foreign ministry also says that along with supplying Azerbaijan with foreign terrorist fighters from the Middle East, military equipment and experts, Turkey has also been sponsoring Azerbaijan’s information and political campaign aimed at undermining the provisions of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities reached at the level of the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russia Federation on October 10, 2020, at the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
“All these indicate Turkey’s aspirations to turn our region along with other its neighboring regions to a platform for its expansionist ambitions.
We strongly condemn Turkey’s provocative policy in our region, and value the cooperation of all forces interested in the stability of the region,” the Armenian foreign ministry says in the statement.
War in Artsakh
On September 27, at 07:10, Azerbaijani troops launched an offensive along the entire length of the contact line in Artsakh, but were thrown back in several directions. Intense fighting continues in the south, southeast and north of the front line. Turkey joined the aggression. Residential areas are being shelled as well.
The Azerbaijani side suffered losses in manpower (more than 4,569 people killed and over 5,000 wounded) and equipment, in particular, 166 UAVs, 4 units of TOS – 1A, 4 Smerch and Uragan MLRS, more than 512 tanks and other armored vehicles, 18 helicopters and 17 aircraft. According to the data of the defense ministry of Armenia and Artsakh, more than 400 Armenian servicemen were killed and hundreds wounded on the Armenian side. Also 21 civilians were killed and more than 90 wounded on the Armenian side.
On October 9, following the meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, with the mediation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, an agreement was reached on a ceasefire from 12:00 on October 10 for humanitarian purposes for the exchange of prisoners of war and the bodies of the dead. Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, on the basis of the basic principles of the settlement, are starting substantive negotiations with the aim of achieving a peaceful settlement as soon as possible.
Martial law and general mobilization were declared in Artsakh and Armenia.