After Azerbaijan conquered Nagorno-Karabakh, which is primarily inhabited by Armenians, the first refugees reached Armenia – we are talking about a few hundred people. Foreign Minister Mirsoja called for a UN mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.
After Azerbaijan’s military victory in Nagorno-Karabakh, the first refugees from the Caucasus region have reached Armenia. We’re talking about a few hundred people. According to the dpa news agency, the government in Yerevan wrote on Facebook: By Sunday afternoon, 377 forcibly displaced citizens from Nagorno-Karabakh had entered Armenia.
As AFP correspondents observed at the border, a group of a few dozen people were questioned by Azerbaijani border guards before being allowed through to the village of Kornidzor. There the refugees were registered by Armenian officials in a specially set up arrival center. Among the refugees were women, children and old people.
120,000 Armenian residents in Nagorno-Karabakh
On the Armenian side, people had been waiting for days for the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh to arrive. Azerbaijan regained full control of the region after an offensive this week. Since then, international concern has also increased about the fate of the approximately 120,000 Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan wants to reintegrate the area.
The Karabakh Armenians fear expulsion or revenge from authoritarian Azerbaijan after decades of conflict. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had previously stated that his country was preparing for the arrival of tens of thousands of refugees. A growing flow of refugees is to be expected because Azerbaijan is pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing, Pashinyan said. The Armenian government is ready to accept the people of Karabakh if all attempts to protect their rights locally fail.
According to a spokesman, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed to Pashinyan in a telephone conversation Washington’s “deep concern” for the ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to Washington, Blinken assured that the United States urged Azerbaijan to “protect civilians” and “respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Wounded on the way to Armenia
Meanwhile, wounded Armenian soldiers in Nagorno-Karabakh have been brought to Armenia in ambulances. The convoy is being accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Armenian Ministry of Health said. There was talk of 23 wounded. On Saturday, the ICRC helped transport wounded soldiers from several regions of Karabakh to the capital Stepanakert.
Armenia calls for UN mission
In the struggle for the future of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia has called for a UN mission to the region in neighboring Azerbaijan. The United Nations must immediately send troops to “monitor and assess the human rights and security situation on the ground,” said Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirsoyan at the UN general debate in New York.
Mirzoyan accused the United Nations of inaction. The “truly devastating developments” in the region have shown that the problems “cannot be solved through statements and general calls alone,” said Mirsoyan.
The Caucasus enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has long been contested between the two ex-Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan, belongs to predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan under international law, but is inhabited by a majority of Christian Armenians. In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh declared itself independent after a referendum that was not internationally recognized and boycotted by the Azerbaijani minority.
Discontent with Russia
Armenia’s Prime Minister Pashinyan has indicated a foreign policy shift away from Russia against the background of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia’s current security alliances are “ineffective” and “inadequate” in protecting national security and interests, Pashinyan said in a televised address. The head of government also spoke out in favor of Armenia joining the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-dominated group of six former Soviet states. The CSTO statutes state that an attack on one member country is considered an attack on all member countries. Armenia had hoped for support from the military alliance in the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
However, Russia argued that the government in Yerevan itself recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and refused to help Armenia. Pashinyan spoke out in favor of a “reconstruction” and a “supplement” of the current “tools of Armenian external and internal security” and called for cooperation with all those partners “who are already in favor of mutually beneficial steps.” With regard to the ICC, Pashinyan said the decision was “not directed against the CSTO and the Russian Federation.” It’s more about Armenia’s security.