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Peacekeepers in Karabakh cannot use weapons if not under threat — senior legislator

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russian peacekeepers continued to carry out their tasks in Nagorno-Karabakh amid the escalation of tensions

MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. Peacekeepers have no right to use weapons as long as their lives are not under threat, the head of the State Duma’s Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, told the media while commenting on the aggravation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, where a Russian peacekeeping contingent is stationed.

"As long as the peacekeepers themselves are not threatened, they have no right to use weapons," Kartapolov said.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russian peacekeepers continued to carry out their tasks in Nagorno-Karabakh amid the escalation of tensions. Moscow assumes that their security will be ensured by all sides. She also stressed that Russia was deeply alarmed by the sharp escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and was calling on the conflicting sides to stop the bloodshed and return to a diplomatic settlement.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced the start of local anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh "in order to restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan." Baku emphasized that neither civilians nor civilian infrastructure were its targets.