Monday, October 9 2023 19:13

ArmInfo. During a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Louis Bono,  the US State Department's Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations and American Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, exchanged views on the agenda of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, the current situation in the region, and the process of normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

According to the Azerbaijani media, Bayramov boasted of yet another  aggression against Artsakh, carried out under the guise of  "anti-terrorist measures."

Then, according to tradition, he accused the Armenian side of  provocations and torpedoing the peace process, and spoke about the  process of the forced absorption of Artsakh and the de-Armenization  of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"It was noted that the departure of Armenian residents from  Azerbaijan occurs voluntarily and on the basis of their own decision,  and that this step has nothing to do with any forced displacement,  which was confirmed by both the Prime Minister of Armenia and  international organizations. In this context the visits of UN  representatives to the region and mission statements following the  results of the first visit in 30 years were noted," Bayramov noted  with cynicism.

On September 19, Azerbaijan, under the pretext of an "anti-terrorist  operation," undertook another act of aggression against Artsakh. As a  result of enemy aggression, hundreds of Artsakh residents were  injured, more than 200 deaths were reported, including civilians, and  more than 10,000 were evacuated.  On September 20, Artsakh fell.   Azerbaijan began the forcible subjugation of the NKR.  On September  20, late in the evening it became known that Azerbaijan had  deliberately shot at the car of the Russian peacekeeping contingent,  killing 5 people, including the deputy commander of the RPC. Today,  there were reports that one soldier was killed and another was  wounded as a result of shooting at another RPC vehicle.  On September  21, a meeting between representatives of Baku and Stepanakert was  held in Yevlakh.  Azerbaijan demanded the disarmament of the Artsakh  Defense Army, the surrender of all military personnel and the  abolition of all government bodies.  On September 22, the process of  abolishing the Artsakh Defense Army began. There are reports that the  enemy side exterminated the population of the villages captured on  September 19-20. During search operations from September 21 to 24,  the NKR Ministry of Internal Affairs discovered the bodies of 105  Artsakh residents, including brutally murdered children and elderly  people.  On October 1, the last car with Artsakh people left the  homeland. Thus, over the past week, 100.514 people were forcibly  expelled from their land.  On September 25 it also became known that  Artsakh was connected to the energy system of Azerbaijan.  Protests  demanding the resignation of the RA Prime Minister continue in  Yerevan and regions.  We add that as a result of the explosion that  took place in the fuel depot near Stepanakert on September 25,  according to preliminary data, more than 290 people were injured, 170  more died, there are still missing people.  The EU stated that it  would allocate an additional 5 million euros to assist internally  displaced people from Artsakh.  Earlier, USAI Administrator Samantha  Power, who is on a visit to Armenia, said that "the United States  will provide Armenia with support in the amount of $11.5 million for  the humanitarian needs of people displaced from Nagorno- Karabakh."  In addition, as ArmInfo previously reported with reference to the  Swedish Ambassador to Armenia, Sweden, through the Swedish  International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), allocated 15  million Swedish kronor to the International Committee of the Red  Cross to meet the humanitarian needs of the population of Nagorno-  Karabakh.  France promised to allocate another 7 million euros.   Germany announced an increase in subsidies to the ICRC from 2 to 5  million euros, to direct them to humanitarian needs of the Armenians  of Nagorno- Karabakh.  Another 1 million euros will be provided by  Spain, $2.5 million by Canada, and 1.3 million pounds sterling by the  UK, Italy allocated 4 million euros through the ICRC,  1.5 million  francs - Switzerland. A number of other countries have also announced  their intention to send humanitarian aid to the expelled people of  Artsakh.