Live Updates: CSTO Experts in Armenia to Work on Making Proposals for Deescalation

Blinken also emphasized to Pashinyan that diplomacy was the only way forward and that he would remain personally engaged in this issue.

"The mission's task is to develop proposals for deescalating tensions that have arisen," the office said.

"The heads of the military departments discussed the current situation in the region, as well as in the areas where Russian peacekeepers are performing tasks in Nagorno-Karabakh," the ministry said in a statement.

Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense for many years, with the most serious escalation breaking out in September 2020 in the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, populated by Armenians that declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 but its status was not recognized internationally. The hostilities ended with a Moscow-brokered trilateral declaration signed in November 2020. Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to completely cease fire and exchange prisoners. However, the situation in the region has remained tense, with sporadic clashes between the two countries.

Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan discussed on Thursday the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border with US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl, the Defense Ministry said.

"Papikyan told Kahl about the situation after Azerbaijan's large-scale aggression, stressing the need for targeted assessments by the international community to resolve it," the ministry said in a statement.

Tensions flared up on the Armenia-Azerbaijani border late on Monday in an area unrelated to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Baku and Yerevan have accused each other of ongoing shelling and reported losses in their ranks. The death toll from the Armenian side is over 100 people, while Azerbaijan reported 71 dead. Both countries agreed on a ceasefire on Tuesday morning after the Russian mediation.

Kahl stressed the importance of observing the ceasefire, as well as the need to resume negotiations and resolve all current differences exclusively by diplomatic means, according to the statement. He also expressed the US position that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia should not be the subject to negotiations, the ministry added.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Armenia this weekend to express support for the country amid renewed clashes with neighboring Azerbaijan, Politico reported on Thursday.

Pelosi will visit Armenia alongside US Representative Jackie Speier after attending the Group of Seven’s (G7) Speakers’ Summit in Berlin, the report said, citing two people familiar with the trip. The senior lawmaker is expected to meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and other government officials in Yerevan, according to the report.

New clashes broke out on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border late on Monday in an area unrelated to the long disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan said it started an offensive operation against Armenia due to provocations. A Russian-mediated ceasefire was negotiated Tuesday morning.

The United Nations believes that normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia faces serious challenges, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca said on Thursday.

"The fighting this week was the latest and the largest in a series of incidents since 2020. It highlights the fact that the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues to encounter serious obstacles," Jenca said during a UN Security Council meeting on Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The UN country teams in Armenia and Azerbaijan are prepared to respond to humanitarian needs in the wake of a recent flare-up of tensions on the border, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca said on Thursday.

"The UN Country Teams in both Armenia and Azerbaijan maintain open channels with the authorities and stand prepared to respond to emerging humanitarian needs, if requested and as conditions allow," Jenca said during a UN Security Council meeting on Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Works on a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not stopped despite the current escalation on the border, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"Despite the current escalation of tension and analysis by experts of what happened, the work on the preparation of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not stopped and this is probably the main priority," Zakharova told a briefing.

On Monday night, new clashes broke out on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, in an area unrelated to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan said it started an offensive responding to an Armenian "provocation." Both countries reported losses in their ranks. On Tuesday morning, the parties agreed a ceasefire.

There were no significant incidents on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on Thursday morning after the shooting almost ceased on Wednesday evening, the Armenian Defense Ministry said.

"As of 11 am [07:00 GMT], no significant incidents have been registered in the Armenia'n-Azerbaijan'i border zone," the ministry tweeted.

Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Aram Torosyan said that the shooting at the border has almost stopped since 16:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a ceasefire on Tuesday morning. Grigory Karasin, the head of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, told Sputnik that a truce was achieved thanks to Russia's efforts, including a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. According to the Russian official, despite the ceasefire, there is still a lot of work to be done, since Yerevan appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

On Tuesday, the CSTO Permanent Council held an extraordinary meeting, during which its members expressed extreme concern about the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and considered proposals to activate the CSTO mechanisms for the resolution of the conflict.

A total of 71 Azerbaijani soldiers have died since the recent escalation of tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Azerbaijani defense ministry said on Thursday.

"The death toll has reached 71," the ministry said in a statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, will discuss the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"This week, we hope that the inspection team, headed by [CSTO Secretary General Stanislav] Zas will arrive at the the border in order to then prepare its report for the CSTO heads of state. And tomorrow, there will be a meeting between [Putin] and ... Aliyev, where, of course, this will also be at the top of the agenda," Peskov told reporters.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is not planning to use its armed forces on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and hopes for a peaceful solution to the conflict, Chief of the Joint Staff of the CSTO Col. Gen. Anatoly Sidorov said on Thursday.

"There were no talks about the use of military force, and even with the involvement of the CSTO, neither on September 13, nor yesterday, nor today, and, I think, it is out of the question in the near future," Sidorov told reporters.

"We hope that the processes will continue to be resolved peacefully, without the use of weapons and forces," he added," he added.

Chief of the Joint Staff of the CSTO Col. Gen. Anatoly Sidorov has said that he, along with the group he leads, will arrive in Yerevan later on Thursday in light of the escalation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

"We will be in Yerevan tonight," Sidorov told reporters.

Commenting on the CSTO mission, he said, given that CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas is currently participating in the SCO summit, he is expected to arrive in Armenia next week.

A CSTO delegation is heading for Armenia to find out the situation on the spot, to understand the causes and ways to resolve the conflict, the chief of the joint staff added.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told his Azerbaijani counterpart, Zakir Hasanov, in a phone call on Thursday that Ankara will continue to support Baku as it resumed clashes with Armenia.

Overnight from Monday into Tuesday, new clashes broke out on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, in an area unrelated to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan said it started an offensive responding to an Armenian "provocation." Both countries reported losses in their ranks.

"Minister Akar was informed about the latest updates concerning the ongoing clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Akar stressed that 'Turkey and Azerbaijan are two states, one people,' and that Turkey will continue to strongly support its Azerbaijani brothers," Turkey's defense ministry said in a statement.

Hasanov noted that the border situation was taken under control.

"Colonel General Z. Hasanov informed his colleague in detail about the current operational situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border and noted that all provocations committed by the Armenian armed forces were resolutely suppressed," the Azerbaijani defense ministry's statement read.