YEREVAN, APRIL 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev did not rule out the impact of the “Turkish factor” in the escalation of the situation in the conflict zone of Nagono Karabakh. In an interview with Rossiya TV during “Vesti” program Medvedev said, “I do not exclude that there are outside factors having impact on the conflict. Turkish factor may have played a role there, only for the reason that Turkey expressed its position”.

The Head of the Russian Government said that Turkey, instead of calling for stability, gives some assessments that “add fuel to the fire”. At the same time Medvedev believes it is better to keep the conflict frozen, than solve it at the cost of human lives. “It is better to preserve the existing situation than allow bloodshed”, the RF Prime Minister said.

Referring to Russia’s role in Karabakh conflict, Medvedev mentioned that the essence of their role is “to never allow escalation”. According to him, the long-dating relations of Moscow with Yerevan and Baku give the sides an opportunity to turn first of all to Moscow for mediation.

Along the entire length of the contact line of Nagorno Karabakh- Azerbaijani opposing forces, on April 1 and throughout the morning of April 2, the adversary undertook large-scale offensive military actions, during which the adversary shelled with missile-artillery units not only Armenian defense positions, but also civilian settlements.

The Azerbaijani armed forces fired MM-21 (Grad) multiple rocket launcher on April 2, at 08: 30 in the direction of Martuni (NKR), killing 12 year old Vaghinak Grigoryan and wounding two other children. 4 other civilians were wounded later. On April 3 the subversive group of Azerbaijan brutally killed 3 elderly and vandalized their corpses in Talish village. 5 more people including the heads of two rural communities of Syunik Province were killed on their way to Martakert on April 4.

The Armenian side has 46 causalities, 19 soldiers missing, 122 wounded. Due to the timely and professional actions of the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Army, it was possible to take the situation under control making the enemy suffer considerable losses. On April 1-5 as a result of the crushing counterattacks by the Armenian side against the military aggressions towards the Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan lost 2 helicopters, 24 tanks, 3 infantry fighting vehicles, 8 UAVs, 1 21-MM multiple rocket launcher system (Grad). During military operations 300 Azerbaijani soldiers and militants have been eliminated, nearly 2000 are wounded. On April 5 at 12:00, the fire was ceased in the line of contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces. The agreement of armistice was reached at the meeting of the Chiefs of General Staff of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow on April 5. Azerbaijan has violated the agreement several times, but in a much lower intensity. In the night of April 6 Azerbaijan even kept territories of the Republic of Armenia, particularly Vardenis city, under fire.