Trump In The Armenian-Azerbaijan Conflict: US Will Stop Two-State Violence

Presiden AS Donald Trump (Instagram/@realdonaldtrump)

JAKARTA - The United States (US) issued a statement regarding violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He said that Uncle Sam's country would take part in efforts to stop violence between the two countries.

The statement was delivered directly by President Donald Trump. Trump said that the US was watching the development of events involving the two former Soviet states that had been at war since the 1990s.

"We have a lot of good relations in that area. We'll see if we can stop it," Trump said, quoted by Xinhua, Monday, September 28.

Clashes on Sunday, 27 September killed at least 16 military and several civilians. The clash was the heaviest violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan since 2016. The incident revived concerns about stability in the South Caucasus, the path of oil and gas to world markets.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev issued a stern warning against large-scale military provocations by the Armenian army on the front on Sunday morning, saying "anyone who tries to intimidate Azerbaijan will regret it."

In his address to the Azerbaijan people, President Aliyev said the Armenian armed forces opened fire on Azerbaijani settlements and military sites from several directions using various types of weapons, including heavy artillery.

"As a result of enemy fire, there were casualties among the civilians and our soldiers. Several people were injured. May Allah rest our martyrs in peace," he said, without specifying the number of victims.

Aliyev vowed to avenge the martyrs' blood, saying that the Azerbaijani army continues to retaliate against Armenian military sites. Many of its military equipment units have been destroyed. "This is another manifestation of Armenian fascism," he said.

The Azerbaijani leader added that apart from these attacks, Armenia continues to continue illegal settlements in Azerbaijan territory. "Azerbaijan maintains its land, Karabakh (upper part) belongs to Azerbaijan," Aliyev stressed.

Meanwhile, the Armenian Government declared martial law and fully deployed troops after clashes with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Sunday, September 27.

Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan peaked on Sunday morning over the Nagorno-Karabakh incident. It is a mountainous region in the South Caucasus controlled by Azerbaijan, but is inhabited by an ethnic majority of Armenians.

The Armenian government in the nation's capital, Yerevan, accused the Azerbaijani army of launching an attack in Nagorno-Karabakh, while the Azerbaijan government in the country's capital, Baku, accused the Armenian army of committing similar actions against the military and civilians.

Meanwhile, the authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh, which declared independence since 1991, also declared martial law and deployed its male population in anticipation of clashes.

Armenia says Azerbaijan is deploying air and artillery strikes on Nagorno-Karabakh. However, Azerbaijan said it was retaliating against the Armenian army attack.