Armenia and Azerbaijan held talks on Friday (May 14th) without success in an attempt to ease recent tensions that worry the international community, Yerevan claiming to have called for military aid from Russia a few months after a bloody war.

Addressing parliamentarians at the end of the day, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian said that the negotiations started during the day had been suspended and would resume on Saturday. "Our position is clear: the Azerbaijani forces must leave the territory of Armenia", he added, accusing Baku of wanting to "incite a military confrontation" and assuring to have asked Russian President Vladimir Putin "for assistance. of the Russian Federation, including military assistance ".

Russia and Armenia are linked by a military alliance within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which brings together four other former Soviet republics.

Article 2 of the founding treaty of the CSTO stipulates that the signatories undertake to discuss a collective response in the event of threats to the territorial integrity of a member state.

"Staggering" accusations

On Thursday, Armenia accused the Azerbaijani forces of having violated the border to take control of territories on the shores of Lake Sev shared by the two countries.

This small lake is located in the high mountains on the edge of a territory that Azerbaijan reconquered last fall during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Baku rejected these accusations described as "staggering", claiming to have deployed border guards on its own territory.

This renewed tension, a few months after the war, worries Western countries, in particular Washington and Paris which demanded an "immediate withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenian territory", signifying its support for Nikol Pachinian.

The latter spoke Thursday evening with Emmanuel Macron.

The French president "is studying the possibility of including the issue on the agenda of the UN Security Council," added Nikol Pachinian on Friday.

Kremlin caution

For its part, the United States, which maintains good relations with the two rivals, said on Friday it had learned of reports of a withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops, once again calling on them to leave Armenian territory.

"Military movements in disputed territories are irresponsible and needlessly provocative," said US State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter.

"We expect Azerbaijan to immediately withdraw its troops and stop any further provocation," she said.

The Armenian Prime Minister, who also spoke with Vladimir Putin, had indicated in a statement on this occasion that he would seize the CSTO to obtain military support.

The Kremlin however remained cautious, indicating only that Vladimir Putin had insisted on the need for Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect the agreement of cessation of hostilities, signed under its aegis in November, after six weeks of deadly war for the control of Nagorno Karabakh.

According to the spokesperson for the Russian presidency, the Armenian leader "communicated his concern to President Putin" during a telephone conversation, but "Pashinian did not ask for help."

Baku wants "a normalization of the situation"

"We must be prepared for the worst, to defend our sovereign territory," said Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian for his part.

The head of Azerbaijani diplomacy, Djeyhoun Baïramov spoke to a senior official of the US State Department and said he wanted "a normalization of the situation" and confirmed that talks were underway, according to the Azerbaijani ministry.

In a statement, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell for his part said that the EU was following these events with "concern", adding that "the delimitation and demarcation of borders must be resolved through negotiations".

With AFP

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