“Different religions,” - Zelensky comments on conflicts in Donbas and Nagorny Karabakh
The conflicts in Nagorny Karabakh and the Donbas differ in the religion of those who take part in them. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the New York Times in an interview that was recorded on December 16, the transcript of the conversation was published on December 19 by the website of the President's Office, Gordon reports.
"It is impossible to compare the military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and between Ukraine and Russia because we understand, for example, what different mentalities and different faiths, different religions are. That's what's in there. A complex conflict is based on this, " the head of state said.
He stressed that the people who defend Ukraine in the Donbas "speak both Russian and Ukrainian", and the language issue is not on the agenda.
"We have people at war with people of the same religion. It also happens. Therefore, it is impossible to compare," Zelensky said.
In 2014, immediately after the annexation of Crimea, Russia launched armed aggression in eastern Ukraine. Fighting continues between the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the one hand and the Russian army and Russian-backed militants who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, on the other. Officially, the Russian Federation does not recognize its invasion of Ukraine, despite the facts and evidence provided by Ukraine.
On September 27, 2020, the largest conflict in recent years broke out in Nagorny Karabakh. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry accused Armenia of "large-scale provocation", shelling the positions of the Azerbaijani army and announced the start of a "rapid counteroffensive". The Armenian authorities, for their part, said that the Azerbaijani military had initiated an offensive on Nagorny Karabakh. During the conflict, the parties used tanks, heavy artillery and aircraft. Military personnel and civilians were reported dead and wounded. Both conflicting countries have declared mobilization. Agreements on a truce in Nagorny Karabakh were reached repeatedly, but each time they were violated.
On the night of November 10, representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia (as a mediator) signed a statement on ending the war in Karabakh. According to the agreements, 1,960 Russian peacekeepers are being deployed along the contact line in Nagorny Karabakh. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that this decision was extremely difficult for him, but there was no alternative. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev clarified that Pashinyan was "forced" to sign a document that is the "most profitable" for Baku.
