YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Viktor Biyagov has briefed the CSTO Permanent Council on the situation that has been created after the Azerbaijani military aggression against Artsakh, the Armenian foreign ministry said in a news release.

The Permanent Council held a session on September 29. Biyagov delivered remarks before the meeting began agenda discussions.

The envoy briefed the Permanent Council on Azerbaijan’s military attack on Artsakh, its provocative actions and the artillery and air force attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Biyagov presented facts that this aggression was pre-planned by Azerbaijan, and expressed deep concern over Turkey’s unconditional support to Azerbaijan, something that constitutes a total disregard of international law.

“Rejecting peaceful talks, the Azerbaijani leadership chose its way of solving the Karabakh issue – inciting large scale war, which has already resulted in numerous deaths and wounded people, including among the civilian population. Turkey’s unconditional military-political support to Azerbaijan is of special concern and it contributes also to the further destabilization of situation in the CSTO responsibility area and is a serious threat for the nations in the region. Turkish specialists are serving in the ranks of the Azerbaijani armed forces, Turkish-made equipment is used, including UAVs and warplanes. The massing of Turkish-Azerbaijani groups at a CSTO member state’s border cannot be of no concern to us. We are resolute to withstand with all our powers and neutralize the intentions of this Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance,” he said.

Biyagov also spoke about the September 29 Azerbaijani defense ministry’s disinformation which was intentionally spread to prepare grounds for expanding the scale of the conflict and commit an aggression against Armenia. “The expansion of the geography of the conflict could create a direct threat for the security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia, and in this case we will initiate appropriate military-political mechanisms aimed at collectively countering the external aggression,” he said.

The CSTO is a military alliance between Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzystan and Tajikistan, its charter stipulates that member states are bound to protect one another if anyone of them gets attacked.

In the early morning of September 27, the Azerbaijani military launched a massive attack on Artsakh (Karabakh) using air force, missiles and tanks.  The Azerbaijani artillery strikes targeted civilian settlements, including Stepanakert city, which resulted in several civilians being killed. Schools were also bombed. A mother and her child were killed in Martuni, Artsakh. Many other civilians were wounded.

The Azeri shelling of civilian settlements resulted in another child being killed on September 29. 

4 civilians are dead in Artsakh. 

The Azerbaijani attacks continue.

According to official reports Azerbaijan lost more than 400 servicemen, 6 gunships, 50 UAVs, 85 tanks and armored vehicles, 1 warplane and 82 other military vehicles since the fighting began in Artsakh.

Artsakh’s military said the Defense Army of Artsakh lost 84 servicemen, with more than 120 being wounded.

On September 29, the Azeri troops began shelling from across the state border at the Armenian town of Vardenis, killing one civilian.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan