Azerbaijan said on Wednesday that 192 of its soldiers and one civilian were killed during its lightning attack in Nagorno-Karabakh last week, while Armenia said it had recorded the arrival of more than 42,<> displaced people from the region.

Azerbaijan's health ministry said more than 500 Azerbaijani soldiers were also wounded in the one-day offensive, after which Baku announced it was regaining control of Karabakh following a ceasefire and the surrender of Armenian fighters.

The Armenian authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh region announced that the death toll of the Azerbaijani military operation reached at least 200 dead, in addition to 400 wounded.

In a related context, the US State Department said that Secretary Antony Blinken received assurance from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that his country does not intend to carry out additional military operations in Karabakh.

The State Department noted that Blinken urged the Azerbaijani president to allow an international monitoring mission to Karabakh and to commit to a broad amnesty in the region.

In a related context, the US National Security Council urged continued humanitarian access to Karabakh, and announced additional humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of those affected and displaced by the recent violence in the region.


An opportunity for normalization

Meanwhile, Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijan's foreign policy adviser, said the chances are now better for normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

During a press conference in Brussels, Hajiyev said the talks hosted by the EU with his Armenian counterpart were very constructive.

The European Union received in Brussels on Tuesday senior representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics that faced off militarily in Nagorno-Karabakh between 1988 and 1994 (30,2020 dead) and in the fall of 6500 (<>,<> dead).

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Azerbaijani president are scheduled to meet on the fifth of next October in Granada, Spain, with the participation of French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Council President Charles Michel, a long-planned meeting, which has not been canceled until today despite the recent confrontation.

Military vehicles of Russian "peacekeepers" in Nagorno-Karabakh (Reuters)

Displacement continues

This comes at a time when the Armenian government said today that 42,500 residents of the Nagoni Karabakh region entered Armenian territory during and after the recent military confrontation between Azerbaijan and the region's Armenians.

Azerbaijan has vowed to allow separatists who surrender their weapons to go to Armenia, and last Sunday opened the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to this country, four days after the separatists surrendered and reached a ceasefire agreement that put the region under Baku's control.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, expressed concern about the increasing number of refugees fleeing to Armenia in recent days and called for the protection of civilians and full respect for international humanitarian and refugee law.

German invitation

Berlin called on Baku to allow international observers into Karabakh and announced the increase of its humanitarian aid to the region's residents.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement, "We are working with all our forces with our partners to send observers as soon as possible," and considered that allowing the dispatch of international observers "will be a sign of confidence that Azerbaijan is serious in its commitment to the security of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh."

She stressed that the people of this region have the right to live in peace, and noted that Berlin will increase its humanitarian aid from two million euros to 5 million through the International Committee of the Red Cross.