Photo: Azerbaijani President Aliyev
A temporary ceasefire that was meant to allow for a longer-term solution to the ongoing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has been broken just hours after it was agreed upon after Azerbaijani forces shelled a town and a church within Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh by the Armenians. It was said that a firefight then erupted in the Hadrut region.
A temporary peace agreement was signed by the two sides following talks in Moscow brokered by the Russian state, which has close ties to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. It was hoped that the talks would allow space for a longer lasting agreement on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
However, even at the time of the peace agreement being made, the Azerbaijani President Aliyev stated:
"When Armenia leaves our territory the war will end."
He added:
"I think the Armenian government has overestimated their so-called importance on the world stage, overestimated possible international support for them and made very serious mistakes provoking us, attacking us and now they are suffering a very serious defeat."
Clearly indicating that Azerbaijan sees no future for peace whereby Armenia does not leave the areas it currently holds; an unlikely prospect given that the Armenian state believes that if it did leave the area that ethnic Armenians would be the victims of a racial genocide.
While Artsakh does sit within Azerbaijani territory, it is inhabited by Christian ethnic Armenians who say that they are victims of discrimination from the Azerbaijani state and the Muslim majority. Indeed, Azerbaijan has, in recent years, been involved in the intentional destruction of ancient Armenian holy sites which some conservationists have said are the biggest destruction of historical monuments in the 21st century, surpassing the crimes of ISIS and the Taliban.
It has also become evident that Azerbaijan's ally Turkey has shipped Jihadi fighters of the Hamza brigade to assist in the conflict with Armenia. These individuals are widely believed to have committed war crimes including, mass-killings and rapes in both Syria and Libya.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry has warned:
"Azerbaijan's political-military leaders will pay a heavy price for committing such serious crimes against the Armenians of Artsakh, for importing terrorists into the region and to undermine regional security."
Peace within the region seems to be a long way off.
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