Russian Peacekeepers Get Into Position, As France Offers “Message Of Support To Armenian Friends” (Updated)

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UPDATE: A photograph from Russia’s first post was published online, showing barriers and three Russian soldiers in position:

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On November 10^th, Russian peacekeepers and military equipment continued being deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh to preserve the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

A Russian force of 1,960 military personnel and 90 armored personnel carriers is currently in the process of deploying to the region as peacekeepers, for a renewable five-year mission.

An interesting Kamaz vehicle was seen, which appears to be heavily modified. It is unclear what it would be used for, but it is presumably to be part of the monitoring mission somehow.

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The peacekeeping brigade that arrived in Armenia from the Russian Federation, whose personnel unloaded and formed columns for the march, is moving to the concentration area, the Russian Defense Ministry told Interfax.

“A subdivision of the peacekeeping formation, which flew from the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airfield to the Republic of Armenia, is marching to the area where the tasks of controlling the ceasefire and hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are carried out,” the Russian military department said.

The march takes place as part of regular units. “The military columns will have to travel more than 250 km and deploy a peacekeeping contingent with the deployment of Russian observation posts along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor,” the Russian Defense Ministry told the agency.

Earlier it was reported that 20 Il-76 military transport aircraft with officers of the command of the Russian peacekeeping forces and servicemen of units of the 15th peacekeeping brigade had already landed in the Republic of Armenia. They delivered more than 400 servicemen, materiel, armored personnel carriers, automotive and special equipment, communications.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Turkey would also be involved in peacekeeping efforts but there was no mention of it in the agreement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara and Moscow would jointly supervise the ceasefire at a “joint center to be designated by Azerbaijan in its lands saved from Armenia’s occupation.”

He hailed the truce as a “right step in the direction of a lasting solution.”

In Armenia, the news of the peace deal that’s essentially giving up territory due to mismanagement of forces by the leadership of the country and who specifically is responsible is becoming more and more apparent.

Unknown individuals broke into and destroyed the office of the Soros Foundation in Yerevan, there is also a video:

Separately, the office of the Armenian service of Radio Liberty and journalists were attacked in Yerevan, Interfax reports with reference to the Union of Journalists of Armenia.

“Today, the Yerevan office of Radio Liberty was attacked by unknown persons. The attackers tried to damage the equipment. According to preliminary data, journalists of the radio station were also attacked,” the Amenia Journalists’ Union said.

The most pro-Western establishments, currently, appear to be taking the brunt of the discontent at the loss of the war, and it is understandable, since Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan seems to have disappeared and he is a staunch supporter and follower of the Western liberal agenda.

All the instigators of the pogroms in Yerevan will be severely punished, the Armenian prime minister said, but that is unlikely to lead to anything until anger subsides.

In a sort of “too little, too late” situation, the French Foreign Minister issued a statement regarding the peace deal in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Announcements were made last night by Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Russian authorities regarding the implementation of a ceasefire agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh. We have taken note of the agreement and are examining its terms and implications. Clarifications are expected in order to assess their impact.

The cessation of fighting is crucial. The parties had made this commitment several times over the last few weeks and we have been, and remain, strongly committed to this priority within the framework of the co-chairmanship of the Minsk Group. We therefore expect Azerbaijan to strictly uphold the commitments that it has made and to put an immediate end to its offensive. In this context, we call on Turkey not to do anything that goes against this key priority.

At this difficult time, France reaffirms its wholehearted friendship with the Armenian people in light of our close human, cultural and historic ties with Armenia. In these tragic circumstances, we stand alongside it. In particular, we will work to lend it all the humanitarian support it needs. Indeed, the situation on the ground, with displaced populations and fighting in urban centers, has resulted in serious humanitarian consequences.

France has mobilized its efforts in recent weeks through a very large number of civil society initiatives. The French authorities are contributing to these initiatives, providing medical assistance, which arrived late last week in Yerevan and included teams of surgeons specialized in treating conflict victims. Other initiatives will be taken in the coming days to provide Armenia with the help it will need.

Finally, the resumption of negotiations between the parties on a lasting settlement of the conflict remains necessary, beyond the ceasefire announced yesterday. As co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, France will be an active participant in this effort. Discussions between the two parties must resume without delay. They must allow for the return of people displaced by the conflict in recent weeks, and for the definition of the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

It is clear that the situation was massively mismanaged by Armenia, with a general chaos in controlling its forces and its defensive, line as well with its policy.

It refused to recognize the Artsakh republic, hoped for some other country to do it, and for a while there was hope that France would take some steps towards that.

However, they didn’t foresee the string of violent crime in France, which led to French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that angered Muslims around the world.

As a result, empty rhetoric and an “expression of friendship” was all Yerevan and Pashinyan got in the form of “help”. Since it is clear that France likely does not wish to antagonize Turkey, Azerbaijan or any other Muslim country any further, as of the moment.

And the statement in the sort of “pray for Armenia” is all that Pashinyan and Co. got from their allies, while Russia still came and salvaged the fiasco.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• Pro-Western Armenian Government Lost Nagorno-Karabakh, But Russia Gained It
• Political Crisis In Armenia And Pashinyan’s Resistance To Resignation Demands

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