France initiates a meeting of the UN Security Council due to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

France initiates a meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the aggravation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

This was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in a telephone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The politicians talked against the background of Azerbaijanʼs statement about the start of the "anti-terrorist operation" in Nagorno-Karabakh. The parties consider the use of force unacceptable and appeal to international mechanisms for de-escalation.

Official Azerbaijan is ready to meet "with the representatives of the Armenian population living in the Karabakh region", but they are not going to stop hostilities until the dissolution of the unrecognized "autonomy".

"In order to stop anti-terrorist measures, the illegal Armenian armed formations must surrender all their weapons, and the illegal regime must be dissolved," the administration of the President of Azerbaijan said.

Otherwise, "anti-terrorist measures will continue until the end."

• In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh, with the support of Armenia, declared independence from Azerbaijan. This led to hostilities that lasted until 1994. The armed conflict ended with the signing of the Bishkek Protocol on Armistice and Ceasefire, but armed clashes occur periodically between the parties. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
• On September 27, 2020, the largest military conflict in recent years broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh, which lasted for a month and a half. The sides used tanks, heavy artillery and aviation. Approximately seven thousand people died during the conflict.
• On the night of November 10, representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia (as a mediator) signed a statement on ending the war in Karabakh. According to the agreements, 1,960 Russian peacekeepers were stationed along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan received the right to occupy three districts — Kelbajar, Aghdam, and Lachin.
• After that, there were new tensions between the countries. From December 2022, Azerbaijan will, in particular, block the Lachin Corridor. Due to the blockade, there is a growing shortage of food and medicine in Nagorno-Karabakh, and there are gas and electricity outages.
• On September 19, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan announced the implementation of "anti-terrorist measures" in Nagorno-Karabakh to "restore the constitutional order." Pashinyan said that Armenia does not plan to participate in military operations in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which has launched an anti-terrorist operation in the region.