VIDEO. 'Mistaken' and 'Exaggerated': Russian First Channel Casts Doubt on Azerbaijan's Attack on Armenia

During the September 19 episode of the political talk show Время покажет (Time Will Tell) on Russia's state-owned First Channel, the hosts and guests questioned the recent military confrontations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, asserting that they occurred not in Armenia but in Nagorno-Karabakh, reports Fip.am.

The broadcast featured a segment from Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's speech in the Armenian National Assembly, in which she condemned Azerbaijan's attack on September 13 on Armenia's sovereign territory, labeling it "fatal" and "illegal."

"We strongly condemn Azerbaijan's fatal strikes and attacks against Armenia on behalf of the U.S. Congress. The U.S., as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, has clearly and long ago stated that there cannot be a military solution to the conflict. We continue to monitor the events, and we seek to push for a negotiated, peaceful, and lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Pelosi stated.

Television host Anatoly Kuzichyev drew attention to Pelosi's aforementioned assessments during the program and argued that they were "mistaken" and "exaggerated."

"I want to draw your attention to the following: she said, 'Azerbaijan's attack is a fatal and illegal attack on Armenia's sovereign territory.' I believe that this is formally incorrect, as I understand it, the discussion concerns the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, does it not, Vlad?" Kuzichyev said, addressing military expert guest Vladislav Shurigin.

Shurigin echoed that the recent clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh: "It is obvious that the clashes that took place on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh need to be studied for a long time to determine who and why attacked first."

Minutes later, Kuzichyev repeated the mistake by mentioning that the CSTO monitoring headquarters had moved to Artsakh.

Later, a guest, Dmitry Abzalov, corrected the host and guests, clarifying that the clashes occurred along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, not in Artsakh.

On the night of September 12 to 13, 2022, the Azerbaijani armed forces launched a large-scale aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, utilizing heavy weaponry, artillery, missile systems, and drones. The aggression resulted in 207 casualties and missing individuals, including 3 civilians killed, 2 civilians considered missing, 293 servicemen wounded, 7 civilians injured, and 20 servicemen captured.