Monday, September 25 2023 13:49

ArmInfo.Senior Biden administration officials were to arrive in Armenia on Monday, a U.S. official told Reuters, after ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh began a mass exodus on Sunday following Azerbaijan's defeat of the breakaway region's fighters in a conflict dating from the Soviet era.  Reuters reports with reference to an American official.

"The visit by U.S. Agency for International Development chief  Samantha Power and U.S. State Department Acting Assistant Secretary  for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim would be the first by senior  U.S. officials to Armenia since a ceasefire last week.

Power will meet with senior government officials and will "affirm  U.S. support for Armenia's democracy, sovereignty, independence, and  territorial integrity and commitment to address humanitarian needs  stemming from Nagorno- Karabakh," the official said.

Power will be the first USAID Administrator to go to Armenia, the  official said, and will affirm the U.S. partnership with the country  and "express deep concern for the ethnic Armenian population in  Nagorno-Karabakh and to discuss measures to address the humanitarian  crisis there."

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 RPCvehicle.  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.

As of 6 a.m., 2,906 forcibly displaced Artsakh residents had already  arrived in Armenia. The night before 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.