Azerbaijan, Armenia in talks after rising tensions

There is only one card left in Nikol Pachinian's hand, Russia's.

AP - Sergei Grits

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

Five weeks before the early parliamentary elections in Armenia and six months after the end of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, tensions peak between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Prosecutor General of Armenia on Thursday (May 13th) opened a criminal investigation into a "violation of territorial integrity" by Azerbaijan, the Armenian Ministry of Defense having accused Baku of moving forces to its territory.

Baku rejected these accusations, described as " 

provocative

 ".

After a call from Vladimir Putin to respect the cease-fire, Baku and Yerevan held talks on Friday in an attempt to calm tensions.

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It is a small high mountain lake which supplies water to several Armenian towns and villages which is at the heart of the tensions.

Lake Sev, on the edge of a territory reclaimed last fall by Azerbaijan, is on the border with Armenia.  

" 

We must be prepared for the worst, to defend our sovereign territory

 ," Armenian Deputy Prime Minister said on Friday.

At the same time in the streets of Yerevan, the opposition beat the recall, accusing the prime minister, campaigning for his re-election, of being unable to protect the country.

This threat has never disappeared ...

Hovhannès Guévorkian, representative of Nagorno-Karabakh in France

Anissa El Jabri

Moscow's role

With an army outnumbered, under-equipped and considerably weakened by last fall's defeat, only one card remains in Nikol Pachinian's hand, that of Russia.

Yerevan and Moscow are linked by a defense agreement.

Nikol Pachinian has announced that he wants to trigger it, while the Kremlin says the Armenian prime minister has not asked for help.

Between Yerevan and Baku, Moscow's objective is still today to maintain a position of balance.

► See also:

Nagorno-Karabakh: start of the ceasefire observation mission

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  • Armenia

  • Azerbaijan

  • Russia

  • Nagorno-Karabakh

  • Nikol Pachinian