Stepanakert/Khankendi residents call water supply problem solved

After the start of the rains, the problem of water shortage in the homes of Stepanakert/Khankendi residents has been resolved. The water supply has resumed, Vodokanal reported. Water is flowing into the houses, the townspeople confirmed, agreeing with the version from the mayor's office that the interruptions in the water supply were due to the drought.

The de-facto Stepanakert Mayor's Office reported the water supply interruptions on August 7. Water began to be supplied according to a schedule, and from August 15, water tanks began to be delivered to the yards. The water supply system receives only a quarter of water from the norm, so it is not possible to resume round-the-clock water supply throughout Stepanakert/Khankendi, the city Vodokanal said on August 27. By September 6, 20% of the townspeople were left without the standard water supply.

On September 7, a resident of Stepanakert, Naira Hayrumyan, held a picket in front of the presidential administration building and demanded that the authorities solve the problem. The picket, which lasted an hour, did not attract the attention of either the authorities or the townspeople, she said.

Water supply to houses in Stepanakert has been fully restored, there are no quarters left in the city where water is not supplied, Gagik Poghosyan, director of the Vodokanal company told.

"The drop in air temperature and precipitation in the form of rain made it possible to ensure the supply of drinking water to apartments and houses. Starting from the night of September 7 to 8, Stepanakert's water supply was fully restored," Poghosyan said, adding that the cisterns installed in the courtyards will be removed on Monday September 13.

According to the so-called Stepanakert mayor's office, the rivers dried up due to the intense summer heat, and the supply of drinking water at the city sewage treatment plants decreased. The authorities also stated the 20% increase in population size aided the shortage. The representative of the mayor's office explained that it is possible to solve the problem with the water supply in Stepanakert only after the start of the rains. However, residents of the city linked the lack of water to officials’ incompetence.

Armenian refugees were unhappy with meeting with officials in Yerevan

The representative of the government of Armenia did not voice any ways of solving the housing problems of internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, protesters said at the Cabinet of Ministers’ building.

Refugees from the Kashatagh region held a protest near the building of the Armenian government on May 3, demanding to implement the already approved programs of assistance to internally displaced persons. On September 2, displaced persons from the Lachin/Kashatagh region demanded that the goverment provide them with housing or adequately compensate for the damage from the deprivation of real estate for the actions in Yerevan. The protesters gave the Armenian authorities a week to prepare a response.

According to the 2015 census, up to 150 thousand people lived in Nagorno-Karabakh, of which more than 10 thousand in the Lachin region, and more than 12 thousand in the Hadrut region. According to the de-facto Statistical Service of Nagorno-Karabakh, after the war of 2020, up to 40 thousand people became internally displaced persons, of which 25 thousand are in Armenia. It is difficult for internally displaced persons to find a rented apartment, in addition, not everyone can prove the right to receive social assistance. Among the main problems, they named the lack of work and money.

De-facto Karabakh defence minister resigns

The defence minister of Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh has resigned, Armenian state-owned Armenpress news agency reported on 11 September.

The minister, Mikayel Arzumanyan, will likely be replaced by the Karabakh army's chief of staff, Kamo Vardanyan.

In the meantime, Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan's spokesperson, Lusine Avanesyan, said on 9 September that Harutyunyan "has not signed a resignation letter by Arzumanyan."

Arzumanyan was appointed defence minister in October 2020 and replaced Jalal Harutyunyan, who was wounded in action on 27 October during the September-November 2020 Second Karabakh War.

Turkish-Azerbaijani exercises ended in Lachin

Turkish and Azerbaijani militaries worked on conducting reconnaissance, organising ambushes, detecting, and destroying saboteurs in the Lachin region, the Azerbaijani defence department reported on 11 September.

On September 6, in the Lachin region, through which the corridor between Yerevan and Stepanakert/Khankendi runs, joint Azerbaijani-Turkish exercises with live fire began.

The joint tactical exercises have ended, the Azerbaijani defence ministry said.

During the manoeuvres, the special forces groups consolidated the skills of conducting reconnaissance on difficult terrain, organizing ambushes on the roads, detecting and destroying saboteurs, a covert approach to a conditional enemy and worked out other tasks, the ministry informed on its website.

The Azerbaijani-Turkish exercises in the Lachin region were medium-sized and tactical in nature, "something similar" was carried out a little earlier by the Russian peacekeepers, said military observer of Novaya Gazeta Pavel Felgenhauer. "Now is such a time that everyone is conducting exercises - the summer season is over. The military is supposed to do it - like, for example, athletes need to train," he said.

At the end of August, Russian peacekeepers conducted manoeuvres in the Nagorno-Karabakh. The peacekeepers worked on skills to prevent possible violations using drones of a mock enemy, and trained to ensure security at observation posts in the Lachin corridor, the Russian Ministry of Defence reported on August 30.

Recall, on June 15, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations, which includes an agreement on mutual military assistance.

Azerbaijan demanded Russia restrict the passage of foreign cars in Nagorno-Karabakh

The passage of foreign cars through the territory controlled by Russian peacekeepers contradicts the agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said and demanded that such moves be stopped.

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry sent letters to the Russian Defence Ministry and the command of the peacekeeping contingent in connection with "illegal passage of vehicles of other countries through the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed," the ministry's press service reported on 11 September.

The letters emphasise that such cases contradict the trilateral agreement of November 10, 2020, and there is a request to stop "such phenomena," according to a publication posted on the Russian-language version of the website of the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan.

"Legal entities and individuals of other countries and their vehicles cannot enter the territory of Azerbaijan without the consent of the Republic of Azerbaijan, such cases are a violation of the legislation of our country," the message says.

On August 11, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry handed a note of protest to the Iranian ambassador for the passage of trucks through Nagorno-Karabakh without the permission of officials in Baku.

Azerbaijan rules out any further status for its Karabakh region

Baku said that Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, ruling out any further status for the region, the Foreign Ministry reported on September 11.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva made the remarks to comment on a statement by the U.S. ambassador to Armenia that "we do not believe that the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh has been resolved. This issue is on the agenda of the Minsk Group."

"Such a statement by the U.S. ambassador is unacceptable. The Karabakh conflict is a thing of the past, Azerbaijan ensured its territorial integrity, and the economic regions of East Zangazur and Karabakh were created by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan dated July 7, 2021. These territories are an integral part of Azerbaijan and there can be no question of any status," she said.

Abdullayeva noted that such a statement by a U.S. official in the light of new regional realities, including the ability to normalise relations based on the international law principles followed by the signing of the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, serves to exacerbate the situation and create unreasonable expectations from the opposite side.

"While the further activities of the OSCE Minsk Group are being discussed, such a statement by the representative of the co-chair country undermines the future activities of the Minsk Group," the spokesperson said.

On November 10, 2020, Baku and Yerevan signed a Moscow-brokered deal that brought an end to 44 days of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops.

On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly signed statement aims to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.