‘Russian peacekeepers must take action,’ Pashinyan says

“Azerbaijan has launched a ground operation to subject Artsakh’s population to ethnic cleansing. The Russian peacekeepers must take action, and secondly, the United Nations Security Council must take action.”

That’s according to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who went live on Facebook Tuesday afternoon to address the nation hours after Azerbaijan launched a major attack on Nagorno-Karabakh.

As of 5 p.m., Nagorno-Karabakh’s human rights defender, Gegham Stepanyan, had reported at least 2 dead and 26 injured in the hostilities, including children.

“Armenia has not given anyone a mandate to carry out ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Our constant aim is to ensure the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh’s people,” Pashinyan said.

The prime minister insisted Armenia will not intervene militarily in the hostilities, saying “attempts to engage Armenia in this military escalation are unacceptable.”

Earlier, Pashinyan had convened an emergency session of Armenia’s Security Council to discuss the crisis.