The border conflict with Armenia and Azerbaijan took a new turn Tuesday as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his country has sided with Russia, a move that cozies them with Putin and any ties with a reunion of former Soviet states.
Pashinyan addressed his security council over the border conflict with Azerbaijan.
“The adopted decision on an official appeal to the Russian Federation and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well as to the UN Security Council for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance regarding aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia,” the message reads.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have a long history of border disputes, including war and death. In September 2020, there was a 44-day standoff in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, where ethnic Armenians established a state called the Artsakh Republic three decades earlier on territory the international community recognized as Azerbaijan.
The border feud recently sparked again after Armenia allowed Russian “peacekeeping forces” to mobilize as its “special military operation” against Ukraine was swelling.
“Azeri forces are attacking Armenian soldiers in Artsakh at the moment while I’m speaking,” Hayk Mamijanyan, a deputy of the Armenian parliament and secretary of its “I Have Honor” coalition, told Newsweek in March, just weeks after Russia’s attack. “I really hope that the world won’t be silent this time. “The world, most of the international organizations were silent during the 44-day war, and I do hope that, despite the inefficiency of the Armenian government, international organizations, and the world will pay attention to the crimes Azerbaijan is conducting at the moment.”
The Azerbaijani embassy in Washington told Newsweek at the time “members of illegal Armenian armed detachments attempted to sabotage the Azerbaijan Army Units” but were then “forced to retreat.”
“We regret to inform you that the complete withdrawal of the remnants of the Armenian army and illegal Armenian armed detachments from the territory of Azerbaijan in accordance with article 4 of this Statement has not yet been carried out,” the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry told Newsweek.
Both Armenian and Azerbaijani governments have blamed the war between Russia and Ukraine to escalate their own border conflict.
The ministers of defense for both Armenia and Azerbaijan have each stated they have been increased hostilities along the border, and this piggybacks Pashinyan reportedly having a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Ukraine media service Pravda.
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