Friday

29th Sep 2023

'Serious' fighting in Europe's oldest war

  • Artsakh forces conducting a military drill. (Photo: nkrmil.am)

European and US diplomats have urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to back off from a wider confrontation after the latest flare-up in fighting in Europe’s oldest ongoing war.

The French, Russian, and US envoys to the Minsk Group, which mediates in the conflict, reminded the warring parties of their “commitments to refrain from the use of force.”

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Saturday's fighting represented a second "serious" clash since last April. (Photo: nkrmil.am)

They also urged them, in a statement on Sunday (26 February), to “keep heavy military equipment … in its present positions and to allow recovery of the dead.”

They said there had been “serious” fighting in the early hours of Saturday morning and that “several bodies remain in the no-man's land” that separated the two sides’ trenches.

With no international monitors at the scene, they added: “The sides accuse each other of an incursion attempt.”

The conflict dates back to 1988, when the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh tried to split from the then Soviet republic of Azerbaijan to join Armenia.

Armenia won a subsequent war and held onto the territory, which calls itself the Republic of Artsakh.

Artsakh said Azerbaijan started Saturday’s clash by sending reconnaissance units over the line in the south-east of the front. It said Azerbaijan also deployed tanks, but that no Armenian lives were lost.

Azerbaijan said Armenia started it and that there were losses on both sides. It said it destroyed an Armenian artillery position and shot down a drone.

25th anniversary

The fighting coincided with the 25th anniversary of a massacre in the village of Khojaly in 1992 in which Armenian forces killed more than 160 Azerbaijani people, according to Human Rights Watch, a New-York based NGO.

It led to an outpouring of animosity on social media, with Armenian and Azerbaijani Twitter users trading accusations and posting graphic images of violence.

Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan, who was born in Artsakh, is likely to discuss the situation with EU leaders in Brussels this week.

He will also discuss plans for a slimmed-down EU association treaty after his country joined Russia’s Eurasian Union instead of pursuing closer, Ukraine-type EU relations.

The weekend’s violence was the second flare-up after a four-day war last April that claimed between 50 and several hundred lives on both sides, according to contradictory reports.

The two sides trade artillery and sniper fire on an almost daily basis, however.

The war could aggravate the EU’s refugee crisis and disrupt oil and gas flows from the Caspian Sea region if it escalated.

It could also drag in Nato member Turkey and Russia on opposite sides.

The EU foreign service did not add to the Minsk Group statement at the time of publication on Monday.

It spoke out last week after the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh held a referendum to alter its constitution, however.

“The EU does not recognise the constitutional and legal framework of such procedures, which cannot prejudice the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh or impact on the negotiation process,” an EU spokesperson told EUobserver on Friday.

“The EU … calls for earliest resumption of negotiations toward sustainable peace,” it added.

This news update is the fourth in a series of stories by EUobserver that examine the issues and look at the lives of ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The first part was about a referendum to create a 'Republic of Artsakh' in Nagorno-Karabakh. The second article looked at the origins of the conflict. The third one looked at the situation on the line of contact.

Feature

Armenia-Azerbaijan war: line of contact

"Frontline coffee is the best coffee in the world", an Armenian soldier told EUobserver, with morale a key asset in the conflict.

Interview

The Armenia-Azerbaijan war: a refugee's story

The lynching of a woman in the Soviet Union in 1988 gives insight into why reconciliation remains so hard in the 30-year long war on Europe's eastern fringe.

Opinion

Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war

While Belarus has not sent its own troops to fight Russia's war in Ukraine, the Minsk dictatorship has been heavily involved. As a result, Belarus must be punished for its involvement — what can the world do to sanction Belarus?

Latest News

  1. EU women promised new dawn under anti-violence pact
  2. Three steps EU can take to halt Azerbaijan's mafia-style bullying
  3. Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war
  4. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  5. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  6. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  7. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  8. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us