Statements of parties to Karabakh conflict fail to establish initiators of today's escalation

The statements of the parties of the Karabakh conflict on the current escalation are contradictory and do not allow defining the party, whose actions have resulted in aggravation of the situation. There is a real war in the border area, believe bloggers of the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Nagorno-Karabakh had claimed downing of an Azerbaijani helicopter and two drones, and destruction of three tanks; the latter, in his turn, denies any loss of military equipment and soldiers. The Ministries of Defence (MoDs) of both parties have also reported civilian victims caused by shelling.

Reports of the parties in conflict about ceasefire violations and provocations on the border appear almost every day; therefore, it is never clear who had begun shooting.

The Karabakh conflict is exacerbated periodically since August 2014, when fire was delivered from rifles and submachine guns, and in 2015, when heavy artillery, missiles, tanks and aircrafts were involved, said Azad Isazade, a member of the Institute for Peace and Democracy of Azerbaijan.

The today's events show that there is no armistice among the parties in conflict, say the bloggers of the "Caucasian Knot", living in the region.

The tense situation in the conflict zone may indicate a resumption of the war, a photo-blogger Albert Voskanyan from the NKR, expresses his fear.

Further actions of the parties in conflict will be even tougher, says the blogger under the nickname "Yerevanets". He also reports that in Stepanakert volunteers are enlisted for going to the front.

The Karabakh conflict has reached such a stage that it cannot be resolved by peaceful means, says the author of the blog "BERG ... man Tbilis", living in Georgia.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.