By Asbarez | Thursday, 14 August 2014
“The easing of tensions is visible. The situation is by and large stable now,” said Davit Babayan, the spokesman for Karabakh President Bako Sahakian.
“While there was an average of 400 Azerbaijani violations per day before the Sochi meeting, they are now down to roughly 30-40. They have decreased more than tenfold,” Babayan told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
The defense ministries of both Armenia and Azerbaijan have likewise reported a steady fall in skirmishes along the Karabakh “line of contact” and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in recent days. Neither party to the Karabakh conflict has reported combat casualties after the official talks between Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev held in Putin’s presence.
Putin hosted the talks following a sharp escalation of tensions in the conflict zone that left more than 20 soldiers from both sides dead. Aliyev and Sargsyan announced no concrete agreements or joint statements afterwards. But they both told Putin at the trilateral meeting that they remain committed to a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh dispute. Sargsyan predicted later that truce violations will become less frequent in the coming days.
Many in Armenia and Karabakh believe that Aliyev agreed to de-escalate the situation because of heavy losses suffered by the Azerbaijani army from July 31 to August 2. Some Armenian pundits say Putin’s stance was also a major factor.
Putin’s unilateral initiative has been welcomed by the United States, with James Warlick, the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, calling the Sochi summit encouraging. “The presidents can build on their discussion in Sochi by meeting again in the fall to advance negotiations on a peaceful settlement,” Warlick told the Azerbaijani APA news agency on Wednesday.
Warlick announced that he and fellow Minsk Group co-chairs representing Russia and France plan to again visit the region soon.
comments
Azerbaijan Blocks Humanitarian Transport To and From Lachin Corridor
#TogetherForSyria Telethon Raises over $110,000 for Armenians In Syria
After Lachin Corridor Blockade, Putin Speaks to Pashinyan and Aliyev
Aliyev Signs Order Declaring Shushi Cultural Capital of Turkic World
Lemkin Institute Voices Support For Artsakh Rights to Self-Determination to Avoid Genocide
Tensions Escalate Between Iran and Azerbaijan
Moscow is Closely Coordinating Peace Treaty with Yerevan and Baku
Aliyev Criticism of Russian Peacekeepers and Iran Elicits Strong Reactions
Putin Says Yerevan Rejected His Plan to Cede Less Territory in Artsakh