The leader of Armenia has declared his intention to pull out of a Russia-dominated security alliance of several ex-Soviet nations as tensions rise between the two allies.

Thousands of protesters angered by the government’s decision to hand over control of some border villages to Azerbaijan have demonstrated in the center of the Armenian capital for a second day to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

A Russia-dominated security grouping has held a summit in Belarus with the absence of one of its members, Armenia, which has been irked by what it sees as a lack of support over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Armenian parliament has voted to join International Criminal Court, which earlier this year indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine.

The last bus carrying ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh has left the region, completing a weeklong, grueling exodus in which more than 80% of its residents have fled after Azerbaijan reclaimed the area in a lightning military operation last month.

Azerbaijan's prosecutor general says the country has issued an arrest warrant for former Nagorno-Karabakh separatist leader Arayik Harutyunyan.

Armenia finds itself facing multiple challenges after being suddenly thrust into one of the worst political crises in its decades of independence following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Armenia's government says an ethnic Armenian exodus has nearly emptied Nagorno-Karabakh of residents since Azerbaijan attacked and ordered the breakaway region’s militants to disarm.

Armenian officials say more than 80% of Nagorno-Karabakh's original population have fled the ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan for neighboring Armenia.

The Armenian diaspora has been stunned by the swift fall of the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani troops and the exodus of much of its population.

The exodus of more than 78,000 ethnic Armenians this week from Nagorno-Karabakh in the southern Caucasus Mountains has been a vivid and shocking tableau of fear and misery.

The separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh says it will dissolve itself and the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by the end of the year.

Azerbaijan has detained the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government as he tried to cross into Armenia following Azerbaijan’s 24-hour blitz last week to reclaim control of the enclave.

Thousands of Nagorno-Karabakh residents are fleeing their homes after Azerbaijan's swift military operation to reclaim control of the breakaway region.

An explosion at a crowded gas station in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region has killed and injured scores of people as thousands of ethnic Armenians have rushed to flee to Armenia.

More badly needed humanitarian aid was on its way to the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh via both Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Russia's Defense Ministry says that ethnic Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh are surrendering their arms to Russian peacekeepers.

Azerbaijan regained control of its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in a deadly two-day military offensive and held initial talks with representatives of its ethnic Armenian population on reintegrating the area into the mainly Muslim country.

The news of a cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh, a day after Azerbaijan shelled Armenian forces, toned down fears of a third full-scale war over the region, But it also left significant unresolved questions.

Azerbaijan’s forces fired artillery at Armenian positions in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Lawmakers in a breakaway Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan have elected a new separatist president in a move that was strongly condemned by the Azerbaijani authorities.

The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is warning that Azerbaijan is preparing genocide against ethnic Armenians in its Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenia's authorities are calling on the country’s international allies to pressure on Azerbaijan after accusing it of carrying out a three-day blockade of humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Armenia and Azerbaijan have made “further progress” toward a peace agreement in three days of U.S.-hosted talks between the two former Soviet republics that have repeatedly clashed over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia’s prime minister has accused a Moscow-dominated security alliance of leaving his country in the cold in the face of a threat of renewed hostilities with neighboring Azerbaijan.

The European Union has agreed to dispatch a civilian mission to Armenia to help boost security around its border and improve relations with neighboring Azerbaijan.

Tensions between Armenia and Armenia are high again two years after both countries ended a war that killed about 6,800 soldiers and displaced around 90,000 civilians.

Armenia’s prime minister says his country has refused to host military drills planned by a Russia-dominated security pact.

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to help broker a settlement to a conflict between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.

The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia have held talks in Prague in efforts to ease tensions between the two longtime adversaries.

The leaders of Turkey and Armenia have held their first face-to-face meeting since the two countries agreed to improve relations.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday in a bid to ease tensions and maintain a fragile ceasefire between the ex-Soviet countries and rivals following the largest outbreak of hostilities in more than two years.

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi says the United States deplores recent attacks by Azerbaijan on Armenia, and has called for a negotiated solution to the countries’ conflict.

A U.S. congressional delegation headed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has arrived in Armenia.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she plans to make a weekend visit to Armenia, where a cease-fire was holding for a second day after an outburst of fighting with neighboring Azerbaijan.

A cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan is holding following two days of fighting that killed 176 soldiers on both sides.

A flare-up in fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan has killed about 100 troops on both sides, fueling fears of even wider hostilities between the longtime adversaries.

A senior Armenian official says that Armenia and Azerbaijan have negotiated a cease-fire to end a flare-up of fighting that has killed 155 troops from both sides.

Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan has killed about 100 troops and fed fears of broader hostilities between the longtime adversaries.

Police in Armenia's capital have detained 180 anti-government demonstrators that were blocking streets to protest against the country’s prime minister.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he will meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels on April 6 to lay the groundwork for peace talks to end the decades-long conflict over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks.

Armenia’s prime minister says the country has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan to establish a hotline between their defense chiefs after last week’s deadly clashes on their border.

Tens of thousands have rallied in Azerbaijan’s capital to mark the one year anniversary of the country’s victory in the six-week battle over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister has accused Armenia of “ethnic cleansing” and continuing to lay landmines in Nagorno-Karabakh even after a cease-fire ended a six-week war in the disputed region late last year.

Armenia is accusing neighboring Azerbaijan of systematically promoting ethnic hatred against Armenia citizens as the two nations that fought a six-week war last year face off at a U.N. court.

The U.K. says it will seek to regularly expand new international travel rules to more countries as a simplified travel regime took effect Monday.

Armenia is taking its decades long territorial dispute with neighboring Azerbaijan — that erupted into armed conflict again last year — to the United Nations’ highest court.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry is reporting that three of its troops were killed and two more were wounded in clashes with Azerbaijani forces on the border between the two ex-Soviet nations.

Armenia's national elections commission has denied a claim by major opposition groups that the parliamentary election results that gave an overwhelming victory to the acting prime minister's party are invalid.

Voting results show that the party of Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has won snap parliamentary elections which he called to ease anger over a peace deal he signed with Azerbaijan.

Armenians head to polls Sunday for an early parliamentary election stemming from a political crisis that has engulfed the country in the aftermath of the last year’s fighting with Azerbaijan over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia’s prime minister says he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for military assistance amid simmering tensions with Azerbaijan in the wake of an armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The United States is formally recognizing that the systematic killing and deportation of more than a million Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 20th century was “genocide.”.

President Joe Biden has spoken with Turkey’s president as Biden prepares to move forward with a campaign pledge to formally recognize that atrocities committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire more than a century ago were genocide.

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021 file photo, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrives at the main square in Yerevan, Armenia. Armenia's embattled prime minister has confirmed that he will step down from the post in April in order to allow early parliamentary elections. In a move to defuse the political crisis, Pashinyan two weeks ago announced early elections would be held on June 20. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP, File)YEREVAN – Armenia’s embattled prime minister on Sunday confirmed that he will step down from the post in April in order to allow for an early parliamentary election. "I will resign in April — not to leave power, but to hold early parliamentary elections.

Aliyev marked the Nowruz holiday by lighting a ceremonial fire outside Shusha, a culturally revered city that Azerbaijan took from Armenian forces in last autumn's war. Shusha, a center of Azeri culture for centuries, came under Armenian control in 1992 in fighting over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Vugar Amrullaev, Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office via AP)MOSCOW – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev marked the Nowruz holiday Saturday by lighting a ceremonial fire outside Shusha, a culturally revered city that Azerbaijan took from Armenian forces in last autumn’s war. Shusha, a center of Azeri culture for centuries, came under Armenian control in 1992 in fighting over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region. “Today we are celebrating Nowruz in our ancient city Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivers his speech in the Parliament building in Yerevan, Armenia, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Armenias prime minister has scored a point in his spat with the top military brass, advancing his motion to fire the countrys top military officer. (Tigran Mehrabyan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – Armenia’s prime minister on Thursday set an early parliamentary election for June as he sought to defuse the country’s political crisis. The opposition pushing for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation has demanded that he step down before the vote. In a Facebook statement that followed his talks with the leader of an opposition faction in parliament, Pashinyan said the parliamentary vote will be held on June 20.

Police wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, block opposition demonstrators during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Hundreds of opposition supporters maintained the blockade of the Armenian parliament for a second straight day Wednesday demanding the resignation of the country’s embattled prime minister. The country's president, Armen Sarkissian, on Wednesday called for Pashinyan, opposition leaders and the heads of parliamentary factions to meet Saturday at the presidential residence to seek a resolution to the crisis. It was not immediately clear whether the prime minister or his opponents would attend.

Police wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, block opposition demonstrators during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. (Stepan Poghosyan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Thousands of opposition supporters blockaded the Armenian parliament building on Tuesday to press a demand for the country's prime minister to step down. On Tuesday, the opposition sought to build pressure on Pashinyan by urging its supporters to blockade the parliament. Thousands of opposition demonstrators surrounded the parliament building and engaged in occasional scuffles with police.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gestures while addressing his supporters during a rally in his support in the center of Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, March 1, 2021. Amid escalating political tensions in Armenia, supporters of the country's embattled prime minister and the opposition are staging massive rival rallies in the capital of Yerevan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced opposition demands to resign since he signed a peace deal in November that ended six weeks of intense fighting with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Armenia's prime minister scored a political point Tuesday in his spat with the top military brass, advancing his motion to fire the country's top military officer. Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the Nov. 10 peace deal.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gestures while addressing his supporters during a rally in his support in the center of Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, March 1, 2021. Amid escalating political tensions in Armenia, supporters of the country's embattled prime minister and the opposition are staging massive rival rallies in the capital of Yerevan. (Hayk Baghdasaryan/PHOTOLURE via AP)YEREVAN – Political tensions in Armenia heightened Monday, with supporters of the embattled prime minister and the opposition each holding massive rallies at separate sites in the capital. Opposition protests seeking Pashinyan's ouster abated during the winter but intensified last week amid a rift between him and the country's military leaders. The Russian military said it was “bewildered” to hear Pashinyan’s claim because Armenia hadn’t used an Iskander missile in the conflict.

Opposition demonstrators march to the government buildings during a rally to pressure Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (Hrant Khachatryan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – About 15,000 protesters calling for the resignation of Armenia’s prime minister marched through the capital Saturday as pressure on the leader intensified after the country's president rejected his order to dismiss the chief of the military general staff. Protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arose in November after he signed a cease-fire ending a six-week war with Azerbaijan over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. He ordered the dismissal of the chief of the general staff, but the order was subject to approval by Armenia's largely ceremonial president. AdAt the protest rally, opposition politician Naira Zograbyan, who once was a journalist at a newspaper owned by Pashinyan, denounced the prime minister.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan waves to supporters during a rally in his support in the center of Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Armenia's prime minister has spoken of an attempted military coup after facing the military's General Staff demand for him to step down. AdIn response, the General Staff called for Pashinyan's resignation, but he doubled down and ordered that the chief of the General Staff be dismissed. The Russian Defense Ministry said it was “bewildered” to hear Pashinyan's claim because the Armenian military hadn’t fired an Iskander missile during the conflict. It added that the Armenian prime minister had apparently been misled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, attends a talks with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, second left, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, left, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Putin hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks after six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal in November. The talks came two months after a Russia-brokered truce ended weeks of fierce fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces that left more than 6,000 people dead. Under the peace deal, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh for at least five years. Putin noted Monday that senior officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia will set up a working group to discuss specific moves related to the restoration of transport routes in the region.

(Vahram Baghdasaryan, Photolure via AP)YEREVAN – Armenia's prime minister said Friday he was ready to discuss the possibility of holding an early parliamentary election, but rejected opposition demands to step down over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Opposition supporters have rallied for weeks, urging Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to step down over the Nov. 10 peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. Pashinyan has defended the peace deal as a painful but necessary move to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region. Pashinyan added that he was ready to hold consultations with the nation's political parties to discuss calling an early parliamentary election next year. The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, and triggered outrage and mass protests in Armenia.

(Vahram Baghdasaryan, Photolure via AP)YEREVAN – Police in the Armenian capital detained dozens of people on Thursday during protests against the country's prime minister, who is being pressured to resign over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The Russian-brokered peace agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control of some areas it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets. Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Opposition supporters in Armenia on Tuesday ramped up the pressure on the prime minister to resign over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, setting up a protest tent camp on the capital's main square. Tens of thousands of demonstrators swarmed government buildings in Yerevan, chanting “Nikol, go away!” Several hours into the rally, opposition supporters erected tents on Yerevan's main square. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The peace deal was hailed in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets. Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenian officials on Saturday accused Azerbaijan of breaching a peace deal that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Separatist officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said the Azerbaijani military launched an attack late Friday that left three local ethnic Armenian servicemen wounded. Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region to monitor the peace deal reported a violation of the cease-fire in the Gadrut region on Friday. Russia deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace deal and to facilitate the return of refugees. The peace deal was a major shock for Armenians, triggering protests calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Pashinyan, who has refused to step down.

Azerbaijani troops march past during a parade in Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. A military parade has been held in the Azerbaijani capital in celebration of a peace deal with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh that saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region along with surrounding areas. (AP Photo)MOSCOW – More than 3,000 troops took part in a military parade in Azerbaijan on Thursday to celebrate reclaiming control over broad swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding lands in a conflict with Armenia. The parade attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who strongly backed Azerbaijan, also involved dozens of military vehicles, and a flyby of combat aircraft. Pashinyan has refused to step down, describing the peace agreement as a bitter but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from taking over the entire Nagorno-Karabakh.

(AP Photo/Hrant Khachatryan)YEREVAN – Thousands of protesters converged on the parliament building in Armenia's capital Wednesday to push for the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation's prime minister over his handling of the fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. About 15,000 protesters marched through downtown Yerevan to the parliament building, chanting “Nikol go away!”The opposition has been pushing for Pashinyan's resignation since the Russia-brokered peace deal took effect on Nov. 10. The Armenian Apostolic Church and all three of the country’s former presidents have joined the demand for Pashinyan to step down. Undeterred, the prime minister told lawmakers in parliament Wednesday that the nation needs consolidation in the current difficult period. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

(Aram Kirakosyan/PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – Crowds of protesters took to the streets of Armenia's capital Tuesday, demanding the resignation of the country’s prime minister over his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. On Saturday, opposition parties warned Pashinyan there would be civil disobedience across the country if he doesn't resign by noon on Tuesday. Protesters on Tuesday temporarily blocked traffic on different streets of Yerevan, Armenia's capital, and at one point blocked trains at one of the city's subway stations. The agreement stipulated that Armenia hand over control to Azerbaijan of several regions it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. Armenian opposition leaders hold Pashinyan responsible for failing to negotiate an earlier end to the hostilities at terms that could have been more beneficial for Armenia.

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched across the Armenian capital Saturday to push for the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation's prime minister over his handling of the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia's opposition parties warned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan there would be civil disobedience across the country if he does not resign by noon on Tuesday. Azerbaijan completed reclaiming those territories on Tuesday when it took over the Lachin region located between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Armenian opposition leaders hold Pashinyan responsible for failing to negotiate an earlier end to the hostilities at terms that could have been more beneficial for Armenia. The Russian troops will also ensure safe transit between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia across the Lachin region.

The hostilities ended Nov. 10 with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim the territories that Armenian forces had controlled for more than a quarter-century. Azerbaijan had not released information on its military casualties until Thursday when the Defense Ministry said 2,783 troops were killed and more than 100 are still missing. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. Azerbaijan completed reclaiming those territories on Tuesday when it took over the Lachin region located between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. On Thursday, 17 Armenian opposition parties named veteran politician Vazgen Manukyan as their candidate for prime minister.

Azerbaijan has completed the return of territory ceded by Armenia under a Russia-brokered peace deal that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. (AP Photo/Emrah GurelBAKU – Azerbaijan on Tuesday completed reclaiming territory held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century after a peace deal ended six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The Lachin region, which lies between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, was the last of the three areas on the rim of Nagorno-Karabakh to be surrendered by Armenian forces on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Russian and Turkish military officials signed documents to set up a joint monitoring center to ensure the fulfillment of the peace deal.

The Azerbaijani army has entered the Kalbajar region, one more territory ceded by Armenian forces in a truce that ended deadly fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. (Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office via AP)BAKU – Azerbaijan's president vowed Wednesday to rebuild and revive the Kalbajar region, the latest territory that Armenian forces have ceded in a truce that ended six weeks of intense fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. Azerbaijani officials said worsening weather conditions made the withdrawal of Armenian forces and civilians difficult along the single road through mountainous territory that connects the region with Armenia. During the fighting, Azerbaijani forces have also recaptured significant swaths of land south of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the towns of Jabrayil and Fizuli and areas around them.

But as Azerbaijani forces discovered when the first area was turned over Friday, Nov. 20 much of the recovered land is uninhabitable. During six weeks of renewed fighting this fall that ended Nov. 10, Azerbaijan took back parts of Nagorno-Karabakh itself and sizeable swaths of the outlying areas. But as Azerbaijani forces discovered when the first area, Aghdam, was turned over on Friday, much of the recovered land is uninhabitable. Ulviya Jumayeva, 50, can go back to better, though not ideal circumstances in her native Shusha, a city that Azerbaijani forces took in the key offensive of the six-week war. “According to him, it is clear that Armenians lived there after us, and then they took everything away.

Armenians who are going to leave separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh dig up the remains of their ancestors to bring them from the territory, which is to be handed over to Azerbaijanis. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)YEREVAN – Armenia's foreign minister resigned Monday amid political turmoil that has engulfed the country following a cease-fire deal for the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh that calls for ceding territory to longtime adversary Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands. Russia's Defense Ministry reported that the peacekeepers accompanied about 1,200 people returning to Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia since Saturday.

Ethnic Armenian forces had controlled Nagorno-Karabakh and sizeable adjacent territories since the 1994 end of a separatist war. But Azerbaijan agreed to delay the takeover until Nov. 25 after a request from Armenia. But the territory then came under Armenian control and Armenians moved in. Azerbaijan accuses Armenians of desecrating Muslim sites during their decades of control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories, including housing livestock in mosques. The cease-fire agreement and cession of territories was a strong blow to Armenia and prompted protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

Under an agreement ending weeks of intense fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, some Armenian-held territories adjacent to the region are passing to Azerbaijan. The move gripped its 600 people with fear and anger so deep that they destroyed the homes they once loved. The settlement — called Karvachar in Armenian — is legally part of Azerbaijan, but it has been under the control of ethnic Armenians since the 1994 end of a war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. After years in which sporadic clashes broke out between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, full-scale fighting began in late September this year. Two days after Azerbaijan announced it had taken Shusha, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a Russia-brokered cease-fire under which territory that Armenia occupies outside the formal borders of Nagorno-Karabakh will be gradually ceded.

This photo made from the footage provided by Russian Defense Ministry press service on in Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020 shows Russian military vehicles carry peacekeepers on their way to an airport in unknown place in Russia. Scores of Russian peacekeepers were heading to Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday morning, hours after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to halt the fighting over the separatist region in a pact signed with Moscow which envisions the deployment of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers and territorial concessions. A total of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers are to be deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh under a five-year mandate. The agreement calls for the road, the so-called Lachin Corridor, to remain open and be protected by Russian peacekeepers. Nagorno-Karabakh military have reported over 1,200 troops killed in the six weeks of fighting.

In this photo taken from the Associated Press Television video, people stuck in a traffic jam as they leave the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. (AP Photo)YEREVAN – Armenia and Azerbaijan announced an agreement early Tuesday to halt fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan under a pact signed with Russia that calls for deployment of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers and territorial concessions. Nagorno-Karabakh has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a 1994 truce ended a separatist war in which an estimated 30,000 people died. Armenians will also turn over the Lachin region, which holds the main road leading from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The agreement also calls for transport links to be established through Armenia linking Azerbaijan and its western exclave of Nakhcivan, which is surrounded by Armenia, Iran and Turkey.

Azerbaijanis with the national flag celebrate after the country's President claimed Azerbaijani forces have taken Shushi, a key city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region that has been under the control of ethnic Armenians for decades in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. (AP Photo)MOSCOW – Azerbaijani forces have taken control of the strategically key city of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh where fighting with Armenia has raged for more than a month, the country’s president said Sunday. In a televised address to the nation, President Ilham Aliyev said “Shusha is ours — Karabakh is ours,” using the Azerbaijani version of the city’s name. Along with its strategic value, Shushi is culturally significant as a onetime center of Azerbaijani culture, noted for music and poets. Nagorno-Karabakh is within Azerbaijan, but has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994.

Fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh entered sixth week on Sunday, with Armenian and Azerbaijani forces blaming each other for new attacks. (AP Photo)IN NAGORNO-In a wooded area of Nagorno-Karabakh, new recruits to the war besieging the region are underwent a ritual Monday they hope will help them endure the fight — baptism into the Armenian Apostolic Church. The region Azerbaijan has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the 1994 end of a separatist war that killed an estimated 30,000 people. The Nagorno-Karabakh defense ministry said Monday that 1,177 Armenian fighters have died in the war, including the region's deputy defense minister. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that to end hostilities, Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Women take refuge in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh entered sixth week on Sunday, with Armenian and Azerbaijani forces blaming each other for new attacks. (AP Photo)YEREVAN – Fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh entered a sixth week Sunday with Armenian and Azerbaijani forces blaming each other for new attacks. The ministry also said Armenian forces shelled settlements in the regions of Terter and Aghjabedi of Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994.

The fighting represents the biggest escalation in decades in a long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the separatist territory. As Azerbaijani troops pushed farther into Nagorno-Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to quickly discuss possible security aid to Armenia. With Azerbaijani troops moving deeper into Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s prime minister made his first public plea for Russia's assistance since the latest fighting started. During more than a month of fighting, Armenia and Azerbaijan have repeatedly accused each other of taking the fighting beyond Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of using white phosphorus munitions in fighting over forests close to residential areas.

Explosions are seen behind the mountains during a military conflict outside Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. (AP Photo)YEREVAN – Armenia and Azerbaijan promised Friday to avoid shelling residential areas amid the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, a pledge that follows a day of talks in Geneva even as Azerbaijani troops pushed deeper into the separatist territory. The co-chairs said in a statement issued after the talks that Armenia and Azerbaijan also promised to offer their proposals regarding possible cease-fire verification mechanisms. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The Azerbaijani military reported that areas in the Terter and Gubadli regions of Azerbaijan came under Armenian shelling.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, said Azerbaijani troops had advanced to within 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) of the strategically placed town of Shushi. “The one who controls Shushi controls Nagorno-Karabakh,” Harutyunyan said in a video address from the town's cathedral, which was severely damaged by Azerbaijani shelling this month. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. Separatist authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijani forces Thursday of shelling Stepanakert, Shushi and Martakert with Smerch multiple rocket systems, a devastating Soviet-designed weapon intended to ravage wide areas with explosives and cluster munitions. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied using aviation and accused Armenian forces of shelling the Terter, Goranboy and Barda regions of Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials said Azerbaijani forces hit Stepanakert, the region's capital, and the nearby town of Shushi with the Smerch long-range multiple rocket systems, killing one civilian and wounding two more. (AP Photo)YEREVAN – Rockets hit a hospital and residential areas Wednesday amid deadly fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh that has raged for more than a month despite a U.S.-brokered cease-fire. In Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani rocket hit a maternity hospital but inflicted no casualties. Nagorno-Karabakh officials said Azerbaijani forces hit Stepanakert, the region's capital, and the nearby town of Shushi with Smerch long-range multiple rocket systems, a devastating Soviet-designed weapon intended to ravage wide areas with explosives and cluster munitions. By then, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but also captured substantial areas outside the territory’s borders.

Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh is raging, unimpeded by a U.S.-brokered cease-fire, while Armenia and Azerbaijan are trading blame for the deal's quick unraveling. (AP Photo)YEREVAN – Fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh raged on Tuesday, unimpeded by a U.S.-brokered cease-fire, while Armenia and Azerbaijan traded blame for the deal's quick unraveling. Azerbaijan accused Armenia of striking the Barda region with rockets, killing four civilians, including a 2-year-old girl, and wounding 13 others. By then, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but also captured substantial areas outside the territory’s borders. In Monday's televised address to the nation, He boasted about Azerbaijani forces retaking control over several areas in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan also accused Armenian forces of targeting its town of Terter and the Aghjabedi region. By Monday afternoon, “heavy battles” were taking place in the southeast of the region, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian said. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. In an address to the nation on Monday, Aliyev once again took aim at the Minsk Group. “For almost 30 years, co-chairs of the Minsk Group have been trying to reconcile Azerbaijan with the process of freezing the conflict,” Aliyev said.

Smoke rises after shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict in Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The U.N. chief urged the parties to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh to deliver aid and “to make concrete steps towards a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Dujarric said. On Friday, Pompeo hosted the Armenian and Azerbaijan foreign ministers for separate talks, but the fighting raged on unabated. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh to end the fighting.

Heavy fighting raged Friday over Nagorno-Karabakh even as top diplomats from Armenia and Azerbaijan visited Washington for negotiations on settling the neighboring countries' decades-long conflict. The heavy shelling forced residents of Stepanakert, the regional capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, into shelters, as emergency teams rushed to extinguish fires. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said other towns in the region were also targeted by Azerbaijani artillery fire. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. “If this is the so-called cease-fire, let the whole world see this cease-fire.”Georgiy, who was born in Stepanakert, said he would stay home despite the fighting.

(Hannah McKay/Poolvia AP)WASHINGTON – The Trump administration waded cautiously Friday into international efforts to halt fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which are engaged in their worst conflict in more than 25 years. Friday's meetings followed failed Russian-led attempts to broker a truce and lower-profile U.S. intervention to promote an end to the fighting. U.S. officials, including Pompeo's deputy, Stephen Biegun, have appealed for the countries to return to a dialogue over the territory. Meanwhile, heavy fighting raged over Nagorno-Karabakh even as the discussions in Washington were taking place. Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of targeting its towns and villages with artillery and missiles, which Armenian authorities have denied.

A medical worker talks to a sick woman in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. Heavy fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh continued Thursday with Armenia and Azerbaijan trading blame for new attacks, hostilities that raised the threat of Turkey and Russia being drawn into the conflict. (AP Photo)STEPANAKERT, Nagorno-Heavy fighting raged Friday over Nagorno-Karabakh even as top diplomats from Armenia and Azerbaijan visited Washington for negotiations on settling the neighboring countries' decades-long conflict. Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said the town of Martakert and several villages in the Martuni region were hit by Azerbaijani rockets overnight. According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 927 of their troops have been killed, and more than 30 civilians also have died.

Ethnic Armenian soldiers fire an artillery piece at a fighting position on the front line, during a military conflict against Azerbaijan's armed forces in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (Sipan Gyulumyan, Armenian Defense Ministry Press office/ PAN Photo via AP)YEREVAN – Heavy fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh continued Thursday with Armenia and Azerbaijan trading blame for new attacks, hostilities that raised the threat of Turkey and Russia being drawn into the conflict. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry accused Armenia of firing several ballistic missiles from its territory at the Azerbaijani cities of Gabala, Siyazan and Kurdamir, which are located far from the area of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. The current fighting that started on Sept. 27 already has killed hundreds, marking the biggest escalation in the conflict since the war’s end. The Armenian prime minister accused Turkey of encouraging Azerbaijan's attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and blocking any attempt at a cease-fire.

“There is no way now to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh issue through diplomacy,” Pashinian said. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The current fighting that started on Sept. 27 marks the biggest escalation in the conflict since the war's end. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said that to end hostilities Armenian forces must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh. “Defending Nagorno-Karabakh means defending the Armenian people’s rights.”The Armenian leader accused Azerbaijan's ally Turkey of fueling the latest escalation of hostilities and blocking any attempt at a cease-fire.

These are the grim realities of the pandemic in a region beset by weeks of heavy fighting. The fighting has diverted the region's scarce resources from containing the outbreak, which spread unchecked during the first two weeks of fighting that began on Sept. 27. Health workers have been hit particularly hard. When the the latest escalation of fighting started, medical workers had no time or resources to deal with the outbreak, Ohanjanyan said. Even at the infectious disease clinic in Stepanakert, coronavirus patients were forced to shelter in the basement.

(AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)YEREVAN – Armenia and Azerbaijan reported more fighting on Tuesday over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, where clashes have continued for over three weeks despite two attempts at establishing a cease-fire. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said the hostilities carried on overnight and accused Armenian forces of shelling the Terter and the Agdam regions of Azerbaijan in the morning. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. By then, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but also captured substantial areas outside the territory’s borders. Aliyev also said Azerbaijani forces took control of the town of Zangilan and several nearby villages just south of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as a number of villages in the region.

A view of a fire in the territory of local factory following recent shelling during fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, in Terter, Azerbaijan, Monday, Oct. 19, 2020. Reports of renewed shelling on Monday challenged the new cease-fire in the conflict over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces has raged for over three weeks. The state-run Armenian Unified Infocenter said Azerbaijan shelled the town of Martuni and several villages in Nagorno-Karabakh overnight, and the Nagorno-Karabakh military said Azerbaijan resumed shelling in some areas. Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. By then, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but also captured substantial areas outside the territory's borders.