News, reports, media on combat in Karabakh. October 25, 2020

According to a joint statement by the United States, Azerbaijan and Armenia, at 8:00 (5:00 CET) on Monday, October 26, a humanitarian truce is declared in the war zone in Karabakh.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced on Twitter the settlements that have come under the control of the Azerbaijani army today.

“Today the Azerbaijani army liberated several villages of Zangilan, Jabrayil and Gubadli regions and the city of Gubadli from occupation,” wrote Ilham Aliyev.

Victorious Armed Forces of Azerbaijan have liberated several villages of Zengilan, Jabrayil and Gubadli districts and the city of Gubadli. Long live Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!

— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) October 25, 2020

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to American Fox News TV channel.

Key points of the interview:

• In terms of peace, there is a clause on the return to Azerbaijan of all the occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh, where more than 700,000 Azerbaijanis were subjected to ethnic cleansing.

• “We did not lose in the war [I mean the Karabakh war in the early 1990s] – we lost the battle. There was internal instability in Azerbaijan, and Armenia took advantage of this. Armenia also received open external support.”

• “We didn’t start the war. We are liberating the internationally recognised territories of Azerbaijan from Armenian occupation. Armenia must commit to freeing the lands in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and the peace plan presented by the US, France and Russia.

• “The Armenian people living in Karabakh are our citizens. They will live with dignity and in peace with the Azerbaijanis who will return there.”

• “The agreement should be based on international law, and not on my wishes or the wishes of the Prime Minister of Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized by the United States and all other countries as an integral part of Azerbaijan.”

• “Turkey is providing political support to Azerbaijan. This country is our closest ally and friend. Every country has the right to have friends and allies. Armenia has its allies”.

On October 25, a parliamentary delegation of France, which included 20 MPs arrived in Yerevan. They met with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. On the same day, the delegation left for Nagorno-Karabakh, where it will stay until October 27.

The Prime Minister of Armenia thanked the MPs for their support and said that “the whole world expects a solution to the Karabakh conflict through a compromise, […] but the situation is still at an impasse”.

“The main obstacle is that any compromise acceptable for Armenia becomes unacceptable for Azerbaijan. And each time, using Turkey’s support, they demand more. And it is not clear where the limit of their demands and appetite is,” Pashinyan said.

The prime minister named two main issues for the Armenian side in the conflict settlement process: determination of the status of Karabakh and application of the principle of the people’s right to self-determination.

What is the wider importance of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh? Former Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder explains that “there’s a possibility of an escalation of this conflict that could lead to a direct confrontation between Russia and Turkey.”

The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has disseminated a video of the settlements of the Gubadli region that came under the control of the Azerbaijani army.

The Armenian side declares that these territories are under their control.

“The drone war – this is how, I believe, the current armed conflict in Karabakh will go down in military history,” Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of National Defense magazine, director of the Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade (TSAMTO) wrote on Twitter.

Война беспилотников – именно так, полагаю, войдет в военную историю нынешний вооруженный конфликт в Карабахе.

— Игорь Коротченко (@i_korotchenko) October 25, 2020

“The Armenian armed forces are shelling the territory of Aghdam, Terter and Aghjabedi regions,” the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in an urgent message.

“During the day of October 24 and on the night of October 25, hostilities in the Agderinsk, Khojavend, Fizuli, Gadrut, Gubadli and Lachin areas of the front continued with varying intensity. The enemy fired at the troops of the Azerbaijan Army from small arms, tanks, mortars and cannons.

Subdivisions of the Azerbaijan Army, continuing combat operations in the main directions in accordance with the operational plan, expanded the territories taken under their control.

Currently, hostilities continue along the entire length of the front. Our troops are in control of the operational situation, ”the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

This proposal was made by the head of the US Congress Commission on Armenian Issues, Frank Pallone.

“The United States must take important steps such as imposing sanctions to force Azerbaijan to comply with the ceasefire and end the use of foreign terrorist fighters,” the congressman wrote on his Twitter after a conversation with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, who is in the United States.

Earlier, Pallone and 30 congressmen submitted to the US House of Representatives a resolution recognizing the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Had a conversation with Armenian Foreign Minister @ZMnatsakanyan who gave me a detailed assessment of the conflict in #Artsakh. The US must take critical steps like implementing sanctions to pressure Azerbaijan to abide by the ceasefire and stop using foreign terrorist fighters.

— Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) October 25, 2020

The press service of the Karabakh Defense Army informs that at night the front was still tense, artillery battles were fought in some areas.

In the evening, the shelling of peaceful settlements began – in particular, the villages of Karmir Shuka, Tagavard, Gishi, Spitakashen in the Martuni region and the village of Avetaranots in the Askeran region.

The State Emergency Service reports that there are no military installations in the area. However, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired not only on settlements themselves, but also on adjacent forests and agricultural fields. There are no civilian casualties.

The Ministry of Defense of Karabakh reports that local battles have been going on in all directions of the front since morning, “the units of the Defense Army continue to detect and destroy the sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy.”

29th day since the beginning of the fighting in Karabakh.

• The Ombudsman of Karabakh reported that since the beginning of hostilities on September 27, 37 civilians of Karabakh have been killed, at least 118 have been injured.
• The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reported that since the beginning of the fighting, 63 civilians have died and another 298 have been injured.
• The defense ministries of Armenia and Azerbaijan have published maps of military operations (Azerbaijani – interactive). Maps vary greatly, you can see them here.
• The US Embassy in Azerbaijan has warned its citizens in the country of potential terrorist attacks. Social media in Azerbaijan write that ‘they mean possible terrorist attacks from Armenia.’
• The Armenian foreign minister said that during the talks in the United States on October 23, the possibility of sending peacekeepers to Karabakh was considered and the importance of the international settlement mandate in the form of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship, which includes Russia and France in addition to the United States, was emphasized.
• The Armenian foreign minister said that about 90,000 residents of Karabakh have become refugees as a result of the hostilities that have been going on since September 27.

• News, reports, photos / videos on military operations in Karabakh for October 24, 2020