Russia calls to stop bloodshed in Nagorno Karabakh

Russia urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop the bloodshed in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where Azerbaijan launched a massive artillery attack on Tuesday morning.

According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, the Russian Nagorno Karabakh peacekeeping troops were informed minutes before Baku began its operation.

Zakharova said Moscow is concerned about the escalation and that Moscow's peacekeepers in the region will continue their mission.

The Kremlin called for calm in the region and indicated that both Baku and Yerevan should sit down to negotiate to resolve the conflict.. Azerbaijan said it needed to restore constitutional order and expel Armenian military units from Nagorno-Karabakh, which is largely controlled by ethnic Armenians with support from Yerevan.. Armenia, Russia's formal ally, denies having forces in the area.

Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov said that the first thing “is to guarantee the safety of the civilian population of Karabakh.”. Peskov said the Russian military has been in contact with both sides, urging talks. Peskov added that the basis of the talks is the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended a 2020 war in which Azerbaijan made significant progress: “We urge everyone to follow the provisions of these documents, naturally, taking into account “accounts for new realities, namely the fact that the Armenian side recognized the territory of Azerbaijan in 1991.”

Armenia has criticized Russian inaction. Peskov, however, asserted that the Russian army “is working to return the solution process to political and diplomatic channels.”.

Azerbaijan announced “anti-terrorist measures” in Nagorno-Karabakh and began shelling the territory of this unrecognized republic, including the capital Stepanakert. Baku claims that only military targets are bombed, but Russian media sources in Nagorno-Karabakh claim that the Azerbaijani army is “targeting villages” in the region.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry described Azerbaijan's actions as “large-scale aggression”. Yerevan called on the UN Security Council and Russian peacekeepers to take action to stop the fighting, but Russian soldiers have done nothing.