Translated material
Again Karabakh
On Saturday night, fighting in the conflict zone in Nagorno -Karabakh resumed. In Yerevan, they say that the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan began an offensive in a number of directions, after which the Armenian troops went on a counterattack. The parties accuse each other for the use of heavy weapons. The Minsk OSCE group urgently convenes co -chairs on Nagorno -Karabakh to discuss the escalation of the conflict on the contact line. Russian President Vladimir Putin called for immediate ceasefire.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, on the night of April 2, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan tried to penetrate the rear of the defense army of an unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Yerevan distinguishes between the military forces of Armenia and the NKR) to take strategic positions. The department reports that tanks, artillery and aircraft were involved in the operation.
The press secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, Artsrun Ovannesyan, said that there are dead on both sides. According to him, the Azerbaijani side lost a helicopter, tank and drone during the clashes. “At present, the initiative in the hostilities is in our hands,” said Ovannesyan. According to him, Azerbaijan undertook an open offensive along the entire length of the border with the Nagorno -Karabakh.
The Armenian media report that in the area of the village of Martuni, the Azerbaijani military opened fire from the Grad installations. As a result of shelling, a 12-year-old child died. The plenipotentiary representative of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Albert Andriyan told Interfax that two children were killed, one peaceful resident was injured. According to him, the shell hit the local school.
Andriyan also added that in connection with the massive shelling of villages and cities located near the border, the local population is evacuated deep into the republic. “The NKR’s armed forces repelled all the attacks, went on a counterattack and threw Azerbaijani troops into their original positions, and in some areas - deep into their territory,” Andriyan said. According to him, the Azerbaijani army lost three tanks and two military helicopters during the offensive.
The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan refutes information about the losses. “Information about the shot down by Azerbaijan Air Force is an absolute lie. All technical and aircraft are located on the spot. This is the next provocation of the Armenian side, ”the representative of the department’s press service told Interfax. The Azerbaijani side claims that the Armed Forces of Armenia struck all border positions from mortars, grenade launchers and artillery attitudes.
“The Armed Forces of Armenia over the past day violated the ceasefire in various directions of the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 127 times,” the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan says. The military department noted that the coordinates of the enemy forces were determined in advance, due to which "the Azerbaijani army destroyed a large number of manpower, military equipment and military infrastructure of the enemy."
The Prime Minister of Armenia Ovik Abramyan said that the unprecedented actions of the Azerbaijani side were demonstrating the undisguised manifestation of Baku’s policy, aimed at disrupting the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh issue. “The state structures of Armenia using all the possibilities are ready to take the necessary steps aimed at stabilizing the situation,” the “ Army News ” quotes it.
Yerevan called on the Minsk OSCE group to intervene in the situation in order to prevent "large -scale military operations." The three co -chairs of the Nagorno -Karabakh group (Russia, the USA, France) will gather in the coming week in Vienna to discuss a sharp aggravation of the situation in the conflict zone, RIA Novosti reports with reference to its own sources in the organization. Moscow began consultations with partners in the Minsk OSCE group, said Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu held emergency negotiations with his colleagues from Yerevan and Baku. Vladimir Putin called on the parties to the conflict to the immediate cessation of fire and the manifestation of restraint. “Recently, both through tripartite efforts (Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan), and in the line of international efforts (the Minsk OSCE Group on Nagorno -Karabakh), a number of energetic efforts have been made that could ultimately resign the conflict,” said Dmitry Peskov, a press secretary of the Russian President.