On September 22nd, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the United Nations, specifying in detail the extent and severity of Azerbaijan’s attack that began on September 12th, ending three days later thanks to a ceasefire agreement. On September 23rd, a day after Pashinyan exposed the “unspeakable atrocities” to the UN, the ceasefire agreement between the two nations was violated. The Armenian Ministry of Defense released a statement:
On September 23rd, at 07:40, units of the Azerbaijani forces again violated the ceasefire regime by firing from different positions against Armenian combat positions located in the eastern area of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Azerbaijan was quick to follow with a statement of its own, denying the Armenian allegations and claiming that it was Armenia that opened fire first on Thursday night.
According to Azerbaijan, Armenia’s forces had opened fire on three different areas of the shared border, “intermittently shelling positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces with mixed-caliber small arms,” starting at 11:45 p.m. on Thursday night. Azerbaijan’s statement mimicked Armenia’s earlier brief, claiming to have suppressed enemy fire by “retaliatory actions” and “adequate retaliatory measures” respectively. According to both sides, no people were harmed during these incidents.
Previously, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan had accused Azerbaijan of mutilating the bodies of dead soldiers. He told the United Nations General Assembly that “there are evidences [sic] of cases of torture, mutilation of captured or already dead servicemen, numerous instances of extrajudicial killings and ill-treatment of Armenian prisoners of war, as well as humiliating treatment of the bodies.”
“No doubt, committing such unspeakable atrocities is a direct result of a decades-long policy of implanting anti-Armenian hatred and animosity in the Azerbaijani society by the political leadership,” said Pashinyan. “This was not a border clash. It was a direct, undeniable attack against the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Armenia.”
On Saturday, September 24th, the foreign minister of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, met with the current president of the 77th UN General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi, to share his view of the altercation. Bayramov blamed Armenia:
Despite the provocations of Armenia and the delay of the processes by it, Azerbaijan continues its efforts in all important areas to ensure peace and stability in the region.
The meeting ended with Kőrösi praising Azerbaijan’s role in maintaining stability in the region:
Azerbaijan’s efforts to establish sustainable peace in the region in the post-conflict period and its ongoing reconstruction work are commendable.
Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have been members of the UN for thirty years.
