Armenia asks for Russian help amid tensions with Azerbaijan
Armenia’s prime minister says he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for military assistance amid simmering tensions with Azerbaijan in the wake of an armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Armenia's prime minister said Friday he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for military assistance amid simmering tensions with Azerbaijan in the wake of an armed conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The tug-of-war between the two South Caucasus neighbors exacerbated this week when Armenia protested what it described as Azerbaijani troops' incursion into its lands. Azerbaijan has insisted that its soldiers were deployed to what it considers its territory in areas where the border is yet to be demarcated.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told lawmakers that he asked Putin in a phone call to provide military assistance to Armenia.
Russia hasn't made any immediate comment on Pashinyan's statement. The Kremlin didn't mention the Armenian leader's request in its readout of his call with Putin late Thursday, but noted that the Russian leader emphasized the need to observe a cease-fire and solve all conflicting issues by diplomatic means.
Russia has a military base in Armenia, which is a member of the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization. At the same time, the Kremlin has sought to maintain friendly ties with oil-rich Azerbaijan.
More than 6,000 people were killed last fall in the six weeks of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.
The hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal in November allowing Azerbaijan to reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, which Armenia-backed separatists controlled for more than 25 years.
___
Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.