Armenia looks to Russia for help as border clash escalates
Armenia has raised the prospect of asking Russia to intervene in an escalating military conflict against Azerbaijan, which is backed by Turkey.
Dozens of people, including civilians, have been killed since fierce fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces erupted on Monday on the front lines of Nagorno-karabakh, a disputed mountainous region north of Turkey and Iran.
Nagorno-karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since the end of a war between the two former Soviet republics in 1994.
Armenia said on Wednesday that one of its jets had been shot down by a Turkish F-16 warplane deep into Armenian territory, killing the pilot. Turkey dismissed the claim as a ‘‘cheap propaganda stunt’’. Both sides have accused the other of attacks on civilian targets, as well as the use of heavy weaponry.
Turkey, a Nato member, has declared that it is ready to support Azerbaijan ‘‘at the negotiating table and on the battlefield’’, but denies that its forces are already directly involved in fighting.
Armenia belongs to the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), which includes several former Soviet states. The group was formed in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Nikolai Pashinyan, the Armenian prime minister, held talks on Wednesday with President Vladimir Putin.
Although Pashinyan insisted that his country’s armed forces were capable of defending NagornoKarabakh, he said that Armenia could request military assistance from the CSTO if fighting intensified.
‘‘It is very hard to tell when the time to appeal might come,’’ Pashinyan said. ‘‘We are discussing all possibilities of ensuring our security depending on the situation and the general political context.’’
America, Russia and the United Nations have urged an end to the hostilities. ‘‘Both sides need to stop the violence,’’ Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said yesterday.