“The Prime Minister of Armenia has asked the Russian president to immediately start consultations aimed at determining the nature and extent of the assistance that the Russian Federation can provide to Armenia to ensure its security,” AFP was quoted as saying in a communiqué by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has lasted for about a month, both sides have agreed to a ceasefire three times since its outbreak, but each time immediately after its declaration they began to accuse each other of violations and the fighting soon continued. No ceasefire emerged from Friday’s Geneva meeting of the two countries’ foreign ministers, although Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed not to deliberately attack the civilian population.
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The armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan originally erupted in 1988. Fighting claimed 30,000 lives over the next six years. The result was Nagorno-Karabakh’s de facto independence from Baku. The enclave, with a predominantly Armenian population, and the surrounding area are now under the military control of Armenia, while Azerbaijan considers these areas to be occupied.
The current struggle for Nagorno-Karabakh is the bloodiest in more than 25 years. At least hundreds are dead and, according to some sources, thousands.
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