Fighting is continuing for the 25th day over Nagorno-Karabakh, despite a ceasefire being agreed in Moscow.

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 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.

Armenia: 834 soldiers have been killed 

The Armenian Ministry of Defence has confirmed that at least 834 Armenian military personnel have been killed since the fighting began. Azerbaijan does not release military casualty figures.

Pashinyan: there is currently no diplomatic solution

During a live broadcast on Facebook Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that ‘at this stage’, there can be no diplomatic solution to the conflict. He said that what was being suggested was not ‘viable’. 

According to Pashinyan, Armenia has stated on many occasions that it is willing to lower its ‘national bar’ to settle the conflict only if Azerbaijan holds back from its ‘maximum goals.’

‘But reality shows that whatever is acceptable for the Armenian side within this context, is unacceptable for Azerbaijan,’ he said. ‘This shows that it is pointless to speak about a diplomatic solution at least during this stage.’

Pashinyan went on to say that the only thing left to do in this situation is to fight until the end, without any reservations or hesitation. ‘Despite what will happen, we have to fight for the rights of our people,’ he stated.

Pashinyan addressed the political leadership of the country, including city councils, community leaders, local self-government bodies, political parties, as well as NGOs and civic initiatives to form volunteer battalions that would operate under the guidance of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. According to him, this will be a tipping point in the conflict. 

Pashinyan also talked about Armenia’s relations with Russia stressing the importance of their strategic partnership. ‘Russia, as Armenia’s strategic partner and as an OSCE Minsk Co-Chair country, until now, has done everything possible and I am sure will again do everything it can moving forward,’ said Pashinyan.

Russia welcomes ‘desire’ of Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders to meet

Russia welcomes the desire of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to hold a meeting in Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said according to TASS. No such meeting has been scheduled as of yet.

Armenia and Azerbaijan report ceasefire violation

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence reported that battles continued overnight in the north and south of Nagorno-Karabakh. They also reported that in the morning the city of Tartar was shelled. 

Armenian Defence Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan reported that in the morning an Azerbaijani warplane was shot down and the situation remained ‘relatively stable and tense’. 

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence denied that one of their aircraft was shot down.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister to meet Lavrov

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has left for Moscow to hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

The Armenian Foreign Minister will also meet with Lavrov today.

Armenian Foreign Minister visits Moscow

Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan is visiting Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. 

Armenpress quoted a spokesperson as saying they will discuss ‘the situation in the conflict zone and the implementation of the ceasefire agreements.’