Russia: Third parties seeking to interfere "only add fuel to fire" in KarabakhSeptember 29, 2020 - 19:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Kremlin believes that statements by third parties about possible military support to Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict only add fuel to the fire, press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov told reporters on September 29. According to him, the parties to the conflict "should be persuaded" to return to a political and diplomatic way of settlement, TASS reports. "We call on all countries, especially our partners such as Turkey, to do everything to convince the warring parties to cease fire and return to a peaceful settlement of this long-standing conflict," Peskov said. He stressed that the Russian side maintains constant communication with Yerevan, Baku and Ankara. Peskov's comments came hours before the Armenian Defense Ministry revealed that a Turkish F-16 fighter aircraft flying in Azerbaijan has downed an Armenian Su-25 attack bomber flying in Armenia's airspace. Azerbaijan launched a major offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. The United States believes there should be an international mission to provide transparency. Partner news | Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. Armenia to sing in 2nd semi-final of Eurovision The organizers of Eurovision 2024 have revealed the running order of the countries in the two semi-finals. U.S. encourages Armenia, Azerbaijan to “bridge differences” The United States encourages Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a durable and lasting peace agreement. |