On 21 September, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called for the reform of the UN Security Council and appealed to the body to be more engaged with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, Aliyev promotes the reform of the UN Security Council.

“We call for reforms in the UN Security Council to strengthen and modernise the UN, revitalise the General Assembly and strengthen its authority as a democratic, responsible, universal and representative body of this organization in the field of international law and security, as well as transform it into a more democratic, productive, effective, transparent and representative body that meets modern geopolitical realities,” he said. “Aggressive rhetoric and provocations demonstrate that Armenia is preparing for a new aggression against Azerbaijan. We call on the UN and the international community to restrain Armenia from another military aggression,” he added.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responded to Aliyev’s statements. “Sovereignty of all states, no matter size and power, is better maintained, and national interests are better served in the current system, when there is respect for international law, including first of all the UN Charter,” he said. “By effectively implementing the principle of self-determination of peoples, the United Nations gave birth certificates to, or helped restore the independence of, more than a hundred states. Many peoples, as never before in the history of humanity, received a chance to have their say in world affairs and to realize their potential of development, setting their nations on the path of prosperity. Some might assume that this process stopped with the end of the Cold War. But that might be an illusion. Rejection of the right to self-determination could only lead to oppression and further violence,” he added.

“In these challenging times, in many parts of the world, including in our region, reckless revisionists are trying to score from the perceived weakness of the international order, posing a real danger to international peace and security. Social engineering of historic memories and even appropriation of the civilizational heritage of others are becoming commonplace. That is yet another signal that we need to recommit to effective multilateralism in order to provide a strong institutional backbone to the international community for becoming more resilient in the face of global challenges,” he further emphasised. 

On the same day, Azerbaijan called for reserve soldiers with various specialties to report to training camps, following the reports of a death of an Azerbaijani soldier in the Tovuz region (Caucasus Watch reported). In addition, numerous reports from Azerbaijan stated that pickup truck owners had been stopped by police on Monday and ordered to go to a nearby state-run impound lot. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that according to a 2006 law, the State Traffic Police could confiscate and inspect the technical condition of private vehicles that may be of use to the armed forces.

It was also reported that Pashinyan’s wife Anna Hakobyan launched an initiative to train Armenian women aged between 18-27 years for military service. Within the program, the participants will be trained in barracks for 45 days, acquiring the skills of a soldier. After the exercises, the Armenian women would also have the opportunity to join Armenia’s Armed Forces as a contract soldier, serving in the conditions specified by Armenia’s Ministry of Defense. 

Meanwhile, the de facto leader of the internationally unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Arayik Harutunyan announced that the region’s de facto parliament would move from Stepanakert/Khakendi to Shusha. The Azerbaijani authorities consider to be of exceptional importance in terms of its cultural, historical, and spiritual features to the country.