YEREVAN, September 19 Residents of Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh report artillery shelling of the city, reports Sputnik Armenia.
Videos have appeared on social networks in which cannonade and explosions can be heard in the distance, an air raid alarm is sounding in the city, notes Sputnik Armenia.
The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reported on Tuesday that Baku has launched “anti-terrorism local events in Karabakh to restore the constitutional order. The department also reported that it had informed the command of the Russian peacekeepers and the management of the monitoring center about the ongoing activities.
At the end of September 2020, hostilities resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh, which became a continuation of the long-term conflict. On the night of November 10, Azerbaijan and Armenia, through the mediation of Moscow, agreed to completely cease fire, remaining in occupied positions, and exchange prisoners and bodies of the dead. In addition, the Kelbajar and Lachin regions, as well as part of the Aghdam region, which were previously under the control of the unrecognized NKR and were not occupied by the Azerbaijani army during the hostilities, crossed over to Baku. Russian peacekeepers are stationed in the region, including the Lachin corridor.
Last year, Yerevan and Baku, through the mediation of Russia, the United States and the European Union, began discussing a future peace treaty. At the end of May this year, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Yerevan is ready to recognize the sovereignty of Azerbaijan within Soviet borders, that is, together with Karabakh. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the Armenian leadership had essentially recognized Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Karabakh. As Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev said, Azerbaijan and Armenia can sign a peace treaty before the end of the year if Yerevan does not change its position.
