2,300 Armenian soldiers ‘neutralised’, says Azerbaijan
Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia entered the fourth day on Wednesday. The biggest eruption of the decades-old conflict since a 1994 ceasefire.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed region inside Azerbaijan and controlled by ethnic Armenians. It broke away from Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s; now is not recognised by any country as an independent republic.
The fighting has spread beyond the borders of the disputed region, threatening to spill into an all-out war between the former Soviet republics.
Dozens of people reported killed; However, hundreds wounded since the new wave of fighting broke out on Sunday.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are underway to stop the fighting, with the United Nations calling for an immediate halt to clashes.
Wednesday, September 30
09:40 GMT – Armenia publishes photos of wreckage it says is SU-25 warplane shot down by Turkish F-16 jet
Armenia posted pictures on an online government platform of the wreckage of a plane it said was a SU-25 warplane, shot down by a Turkish fighter jet on September 29.
Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied Yerevan’s of Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down the Armenian plane, killing the pilot. On Wednesday Armenia’s defence ministry named the pilot as Major Valeri Damelin.
Fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces over the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh entered the fourth day on Wednesday. The biggest eruption of their decades-old conflict since a 1994 ceasefire. ‘s unified info centre, an online governmental platform.
Turkey
09:15 GMT – ‘Will do what is necessary’ – Turkish foreign minister
Turkey will back Azerbaijan with “every means available” in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says.
“We will do what is necessary … if Azerbaijan wants to resolve this [conflict] on the field,” Cavusoglu tells state news agency Anadolu
after being asked whether Turkey is providing military support to Baku.
Azerbaijan currently has the “capacity” to handle the situation on its own, Cavusoglu says.
08:45 GMT -Turkey says French solidarity with Armenia supports occupation in Azerbaijan
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that French solidarity with Armenia amounted to supporting Armenian occupation in Azerbaijan.
Speaking in an interview with state-run Anadolu news agency; after French President Emmanuel Macron said Turkey’s “warlike” rhetoric was encouraging Baku to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh.
08:07 GMT: Macron criticises Turkey’s “warlike” rhetoric on Nagorno-Karabakh
French President Emmanuel Macron said Turkey’s “warlike” rhetoric was encouraging Azerbaijan to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh and that was unacceptable; though he added that he had no proof at this stage of direct Turkish involvement.
Fierce fighting broke out on Sunday between Armenian and Azeri forces over Nagorno-Karabakh; a breakaway region inside Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians. Turkey is an ally of Azerbaijan, with which it shares ethnic and cultural ties.
“I have noted Turkey’s political declarations (in favour of Azerbaijan), which I think are inconsiderate and dangerous,” Macron told a news conference in Latvia.
Armenia
07:25 GMT: Armenia says no need for outside military help
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, says he is not at this point considering asking for help under a post-Soviet security treaty – but did not rule out doing so.
“Armenia will ensure its security, with the participation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) or without it,” Russian news agencies.
He said he and Putin had not discussed the possibility of Russian military intervention in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Russia has used the CSTO, along with the Eurasian Economic Union; another regional bloc focused on trade, to project influence across most of the former Soviet Union.
07:00 GMT – Armenia not ready for Russia-mediated peace talks: PM
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said peace talks with Azerbaijan under Russian mediation would be inappropriate, as fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region entered the fourth day.
“It isn’t very appropriate to speak of a summit between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia at a time of intensive hostilities,” Pashinyan told Russia’s Interfax news agency. “A suitable atmosphere and conditions needed for negotiations.”
06:35 GMT – 2,300 Armenian soldiers ‘neutralised’: Azerbaijan defence ministry
At least 2,300 Armenian soldiers have been killed or wounded by Azerbaijani troops since the conflict between the two countries began on Sunday: Azerbaijan’s defence ministry.
The ministry statement added that 130 tanks and armoured vehicles, more than 200 artillery and missile systems, approximately 25 air defence systems, six command and observation zones, five ammunition depots, 50 anti-tank guns and 55 cars were also destroyed.
