Live Updates: Stepanakert and its Environs Come Under Several Drone Attacks

STEPANAKERT (Sputnik) – The Foreign Ministry of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh has accused the “triple alliance of Azerbaijan, Turkey and terrorist organizations” of sharing common values following the attack on a church in the city of Shusha.

On Thursday, several drone strikes damaged the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, a historical building that dates back to the 19th century. The Armenian forces accused Baku of committing these attacks while the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claims that its forces do not target buildings of historical, cultural or religious importance. According to the ombudsman of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, Artak Beglaryan, three journalists were injured in one of the strikes.

“The attack on the Church of the Holy All-Savior [Ghazanchetsots] in the city of Shushi demonstrates that the criminal triple alliance of Azerbaijan, Turkey and terrorist organizations, which unleashed an aggression against the Republic of Artsakh, are united not only by common goals, but also by a common system of values and criminal methods of warfare,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on late Thursday.

The ministry has strongly condemned the attacks on the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral as a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

“We once again emphasize that under the circumstances of Azerbaijan’s open denial of the principles of humanity and universal values, the international recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh is the most effective way to ensure the security of the people of Artsakh, the realization of their fundamental rights and the preservation of Artsakh’s cultural heritage,” the statement added.

YEREVAN (Sputnik) – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the TV5Monde broadcaster in an interview he hopes that France will recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh.

“I can openly say that expect the French president and France to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh [Artsakh],” Pashinyan said on Thursday.

From the prime minister's point of view, the current escalation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh may result in a significant humanitarian crisis, as well as the rise of terrorism in the South Caucasus.

“And of course, this is a direct threat to the global security, given the factor and policy of Turkey,” Pashinyan said, as quoted by his press service.

The prime minister added that Armenia, the Armenian people and the Republic of Artsakh were satisfied with the French position on the current escalation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

STEPANAKERT (Sputnik) – Several explosions rocked on Friday Stepanakert, the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the site.

Air raid sirens are sounding in Stepanakert (called Khankendi in Azerbaijan), the correspondent added. It is unclear, which targets have been hit.

YEREVAN (Sputnik) - The Armenian authorities on Thursday introduced further restrictions related to the martial law and prohibited officials form sharing reports that can undermine policies of Yerevan and Nagorno-Karabakh amid the ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan.

Armenia declared martial law on 27 September when the first clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh erupted.

"Officials of state and local government bodies are prohibited from publishing information that criticizes, refutes, questions the effectiveness, or in any way devalues policies related to ensuring the compliance to the martial law and state security, including speeches and publications," the government said in a press release.

The toughened restrictions also prohibit publishing reports that question Armenia’s and Nagorno-Karabakh’s defense capabilities.

The Armenian police will oversee the compliance to the toughened martial law and will have the authority to seize media equipment.

"Various action plans are being worked out, among other things, we have proposed to provide Moscow platform to organize a meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. We are holding consultations with the parties regarding possible timing of the start of negotiations in this format", Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

YEREVAN, October 8 (Sputnik) - Another strike hit the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral (Holy Savior Cathedral) in the city of Shusha in Karabakh, Sputnik Armenia reported.

According to the agency, Russian journalists were injured in the strike.

Earlier, the Armenian Unified Information Center said that the Azerbaijan armed forces struck the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, the city's main temple, which was built in the 19th century and restored in the 1990s. The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said that the Azerbaijani armed forces were not targeting historical, cultural and religious buildings.

STEPANAKERT (Sputnik) - Another drone attack was carried out in the city of Shusha in the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, where a cathedral was destroyed by an earlier shelling, a Sputnik correspondent reported Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the Armenian Unified Information Center claimed that an attack had occurred on the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, the city's main church, which was built in the 19th century and restored in the 1990s. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry responded by saying that its forces had not attacked historical, cultural and religious sites.

This is currently a column of white smoke from where the strike hit.

Several bombs were also dropped on the outskirts of Stepanakert, the republic's capital, as there was a signature sound of their engines and the city's siren.

The fire caused by a drone strike near Stepanakert continues as well.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh since 27 September.

Shusha is a city endowed with considerable significance for both sides. The city was the capital of the Karabakh Khanate and later home to many Azeri artists, musicians and poets, making a place of cultural importance in Azerbaijan. In Armenia, it is associated with a 1920 massacre when Azerbaijan forces murdered approximately 20,000 Armenians.

"The information about the damage to the church in Shusha has nothing to do with the military actions of the Azerbaijani army. Unlike the armed forces of Armenia, which, during the shelling of Ganja on 4 October, damaged civilian objects, residential buildings, as well as the Imamzadeh complex, which is a religious architectural monument, the Azerbaijani army does not target historical, cultural, especially religious buildings and monuments", the ministry said.

The information circulated in the Armenian and foreign media that on October 8 the parties allegedly agreed to hold a ceasefire is false#NKpeace#ArtsakhStrong

— Armenian Unified Infocenter (@ArmenianUnified) October 8, 2020

"We have notified the Greek Foreign Ministry that people of Armenian origin are arriving in Azerbaijan's occupied territories from abroad, including from Greece ... We have requested a probe. After the Greek side decided to recall its ambassador for consultations, the Republic of Azerbaijan's ambassador in the Hellenic Republic was recalled to Baku for consultations", the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"What I’ve done with my friends, like Kim Kardashian, her family, her siblings, and other friends like Cher, Serj Tankian, Alexis Ohanian, all of us — obviously they have a bigger platform than I do, but I have the ability to pull everybody together… and I feel honored that everybody cares and they basically say, ‘what can I do?'", human rights advocate Eric Esrailian told The Hill

"Apart from that, 133 civilian facilities and 928 residential buildings were damaged", the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.

YEREVAN (Sputnik) - Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan does not currently plan any meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, the Armenian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Anna Nagdalyan, told Sputnik on Thursday.

"A meeting of Armenia's and Azerbaijan's foreign ministers is not currently planned in any format", Nagdalyan said, when asked if a trilateral meeting of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers could be held during Mnatsakanyan's upcoming visit to the Russian capital.

Mnatsakanyan is set to hold negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on 12 October.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is engaged in dialogue at all the possible levels, as it is making effort toward the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis settlement, and President Vladimir Putin will maintain close contact with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"Dialogue continues at all the levels, including the top level", Peskov told reporters.

The Kremlin spokesman noted that Putin had no plans to meet with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, who will soon come to Russia for negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"You know that he [Mnatsakanyan] is engaged in close dialogue with his Russian counterpart, Lavrov. You know that Putin regularly holds phone conversations with Pashinyan, and they will maintain dialogue. So, this [Putin-Mnatsakanyan talks] is currently not on the agenda", Peskov told reporters when asked about the possible meeting.

The reasons behind this decision to relieve the head of the National Security Service, Argishti Kyaramyan, of his duties were not disclosed.

BAKU (Sputnik) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that the Armenian foreign minister ignored a meeting with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on the settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"By the way tomorrow [on Thursday], our foreign minister will be in Geneva meeting with ambassadors of the Minsk Group. And as far as I know. The Armenian foreign minister was supposed to go there at the beginning of the month, but he ignored it. He is not there. Our foreign minister is there. It shows who wants negotiations and who was just [making] accusations against Azerbaijan", Aliyev told the broadcaster Euronews.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is set to arrive in Yerevan, Armenia for a two-day visit on Thursday and participate in a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union's (EAEU) intergovernmental council.

The meeting is s scheduled to take place on Friday. The EAEU has decided not to postpone the event despite the ongoing deadly clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The prime ministers of Belarus and Kazakhstan are also expected to visit Yerevan and participate in the meeting, while Kyrgyzstan most likely will not send any representatives to the upcoming session amid the ongoing political tensions in the Central Asian country.

BAKU (Sputnik) – The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry accused on Thursday the Armenian forces of shelling its settlements in several regions adjacent to the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh.

"#Armed forces of #Armenia shelling #Goranboy, #Terter and #Agdam regions of #Azerbaijan. Casualties among civilians. Azerbaijan Armed Forces taking adequate measures", the ministry wrote on its Twitter page.