Azerbaijan asserted investigating a video about unarmed Armenian soldiers being executed by Azerbaijani forces

Azerbaijan has stated that it is looking into a video showing unarmed Armenian soldiers being executed by Azerbaijani forces. At least six unarmed Armenian troops who had surrendered are shown in the video, which surfaced online on October 1. Then, at least three of the Azerbaijani troops started firing. 

On October 2, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor's Office said that the most recent video is the subject of a complete investigation. 

Toivo Klaar, the EU's Special Envoy to the South Caucasus, posted on Twitter, "If this video is true, then this is a war crime that has to be investigated and the culprits punished." 

Three Armenians were killed in clashes with Azerbaijan

On September 28, three Armenian soldiers were killed, and one Azerbaijani soldier was injured in new fighting. 

Both sides accused one another of breaking the ceasefire; Armenia alleged that Azerbaijani forces deployed heavy weaponry to attack its positions. 

At a cabinet meeting, Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, charged Azerbaijan with striking Armenian soldiers from locations within Armenian land they had recently taken control of. He declared: "The armed troops of Azerbaijan must withdraw from the Armenian land. The territory of Armenia is occupied."

US State Department: "The United States is trying to resolve outstanding issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan through negotiations" 

In a meeting with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in New York, "State Secretary Antony Blinken suggested the parties exchange ideas on how to advance the peace process," shared the State Department representative Ned Price at the daily press briefing on September 26. 

"It was important for us, especially the Secretary of State, to bring both parties together. Of course, the Secretary of State has had conversations with the two sides, but this was the first face-to-face meeting between the two foreign ministers since the latest violence. The Secretary of State expressed the importance of maintaining the ceasefire regime and maintaining calm on both sides and noted that we are committed to a permanent ceasefire and a peaceful solution. We made it clear to both foreign ministers that the United States is ready to support the negotiation process bilaterally, multilaterally, with partners. This includes our support for EU Council President Charles Michel's efforts to bring leaders together. During that meeting, they discussed the best way forward. The Secretary of State suggested that the parties share ideas on moving the peace process forward in a meaningful way by the end of September," Price said. He said the United States called Azerbaijan to return its troops to their original positions. "We call for the release of military forces and try to resolve all unresolved issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan through peace negotiations. Using force is not an acceptable way. We disclosed this privately. We have made that clear, and we are pleased that our ongoing engagement with both countries at the highest level, including last week in New York, has helped to cease hostilities. We will continue to engage and encourage engagement. Because this conflict cannot and does not have a military solution," he added.

In response to the question about the time and place of the meeting between the parties, the representative of the State Department said that the parties would decide on this matter. "However, we believe that the continuation of direct relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not only in their interests but also in the interests of the region and beyond. We have again offered to help bilaterally, trilaterally, and multilaterally. Of course, the European Union plays an important role here," he said. Ned Price stated that the US is in regular contact with both Armenian and Azerbaijani officials and will continue to do so. 

Asked whether the United States has any plans to advance the negotiation process, Price said the United States is not and cannot present any plans. "Our task is to bring the parties together, facilitate dialogue, help them overcome their differences, and resolve their differences peacefully and diplomatically. That is last week's topic. This is our continuous relationship," he said. 

Meanwhile, Hikmet Hajiyev, the Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, met with Colin Call, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs, and discussed regional security issues. The Embassy of Azerbaijan in the United States said on its Twitter account that the issue of bilateral cooperation was discussed at the meeting.