Debate on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Al Jazeera Arabic – Ahmad Shahidov and Vahram Ter-Matevosyan

Starting from September 27, 2020, Armenian armed forces have been intensively shelling settlements, social and strategic facilities in Azerbaijan. The civilian population of Azerbaijan is also under fire. Armenia uses heavy artillery, aircraft, missile systems, and prohibited weapons. As a result of the shelling, civilians in Azerbaijan killed, there are wounded, and serious damage has been caused to houses, historical and cultural monuments, administrative buildings, shopping centers, and other social facilities.

To suppress Armenian’s combat activity and ensure the civilian population’s safety, the command of the Azerbaijan Army decided to launch a counter-offensive operation of our troops along the entire front.

A live debate on the recent clashes on frontline was organized on the Al-Jazeera Arabic channel. Dr. Ahmad Shahidov, head of the Azerbaijan Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, and Dr. Vahram Ter-Matevosyan, Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science and International Affairs Program at the American University of Armenia, came face to face in the debate.

Azerbaijani human rights defender Ahmad Shahidov said that the Armenian army violated the ceasefire, fired on the villages on the line of contact and killed civilians. The human rights defender said that Armenia must withdraw its soldiers from all occupied territories and stressed the need to restore the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan. And only then can we talk about the possibility of any peace talks between the sides.