Military mobilization in Armenia? Is the war starting?
Baku/16.09.22/Turan: On September 16, at a meeting of the Armenian government, the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that on the night of September 14, the Azerbaijani armed forces again attacked the territory of Armenia, and the Armenian side suffered numerous losses.
“It is known about the death of 135 servicemen during the fighting with the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Unfortunately, we learned that this figure was not final, there are also many wounded,” Pashinyan said. He did not specify exactly where the new clash took place. According to Armenian sources, the battle was "on the southern section of the border."
However, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has not reported on new battles in the past two days.
Meanwhile, Armenian sources claim that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are preparing a new offensive from Nakhchivan. In this regard, the Armenian side is deploying additional troops there.
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan stated that citizens who wish to defend the country's borders on a voluntary basis can apply to the military commissariats at their place of residence.
What's is going on?
Security expert Ilham Ismail talks about this in the “Difficult Question” program.
According to him, the Armenian media and the Armenian Defense Ministry wrote that on the night of September 14, it was calm on the line of contact between the troops.
“On September 13, in the evening, Russian TV channels reported that on the initiative of Moscow, an agreement was reached on a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the expert said.
“In all likelihood, Pashinyan’s statement that on the night of September 14 the Azerbaijani Armed Forces again attacked the territory of Armenia, is because of numerous losses of the Armenians; not wanting to admit that the Armenian side suffered losses in one battle, Pashinyan wants to present the case in such a way as if Armenia suffered these losses as a result of many days of fighting.
As for the possibility of declaring general mobilization in Armenia, Ilham Ismail noted that today at a government meeting, Pashinyan said that he did not consider it expedient to introduce martial law in the country.
“He noted that the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border remains tense, and the issue of introducing martial law was discussed at the meeting of the Security Council of Armenia. However, the Security Council came to the conclusion that at the moment there is no need to declare martial law,” the expert noted.
Difficult question
-
The municipal elections in Azerbaijan, held on January 29, took place without significant public interest or pre-election activity, according to an election law expert. Official data from the Central Election Commission (CEC) reported a voter turnout of 31.45%, but independent observers have cast doubt on this figure.
-
The absence of Azerbaijan's delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) winter session has sparked questions about the country’s participation in the European institution. According to sources in Azerbaijan's parliament, PACE did not send an official invitation to Azerbaijan, as participation requires such an invitation to be issued.
-
Azerbaijani pro-government media have unleashed an unexpected wave of anti-Russian rhetoric, including claims of espionage at the "Russian House" and accusations that the opposition National Council has ties with Moscow. Chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces Jamil Hasanli dismissed the allegations as baseless, describing them as part of a smear campaign by the government to shift attention from its own close ties with the Kremlin.
-
In the wake of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, questions about his administration’s foreign policy direction loom large, particularly regarding its approach to the South Caucasus. Speaking on the "Difficult Question" program from Washington, Azerbaijani journalist Alex Raufoglu gave a subtle assessment of how the Trump presidency could affect relations between the United States and Azerbaijan.
Leave a review