Azerbaijan has reported Armenia is increase army tools alongside the border, publishing footage that purports to indicate unarmored transport automobiles lining up near the frontier. The claims have been denied by Armenia however shared broadly in Russian state media, whereas Moscow has accused the West of making an attempt to “drag the South Caucasus into geopolitical confrontation.” Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought a number of bloody wars in recent times, with Azerbaijan rising because the victor in every of them.
On Friday, European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with the EU pledging greater than 1 / 4 of a billion euros to help Armenia’s economic system within the face of rising regional tensions and strained relations with its conventional ally, Russia. With anger constructing on the Kremlin for failing to help Armenia in its standoff with Azerbaijan, the Armenian authorities has successfully frozen its membership in Moscow’s army alliance, despatched humanitarian help to Ukraine and even hinted it may someday apply to affix the EU.
“The European Union and america acknowledged the substantial progress Armenia has made since 2018 on democratic and justice reforms and the struggle towards corruption, and expressed a dedication to proceed partnering with and supporting Armenia because it additional strengthens its democracy and the rule of legislation, consistent with our shared values and rules,” a joint assertion from Blinken and von der Leyen mentioned.
Azerbaijan final weekend marked the “Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis,” commemorating greater than 100,000 Azerbaijanis who lived in Armenia previous to the autumn of the Soviet Union and had been expelled, with many extra killed amid violence within the breakaway area of Nagorno-Karabakh within the Nineties. In September, following a year-long blockade of its provide routes, Azerbaijan conquered the unrecognized republic after three a long time of de facto autonomy, sparking a mass exodus of its 100,000 Armenian inhabitants.
Forward of the talks, Blinken advised Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a name “that there is no such thing as a justification for elevated pressure on the border and cautioned that aggressive actions and rhetoric from any facet would undermine prospects for peace.”
