2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
Both sides accused each other reigniting the conflict, which erupted near the Ganja gap, a strategic route that serves as an energy and transport corridor for Azerbaijan. According to ex-presidents of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, the skirmishes were provoked by Armenia, and Russian minister of foreign affairs Sergey Lavrov stated that  "a trigger of sorts was the geographical factor: Armenia’s decision to restore an old border checkpoint, located in 15km distance from Azerbaijan’s export pipelines, caused strong concerns on one side and unwarranted response from the other".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
According to Stefan Meister, the head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s office for the South Caucasus, the escalation was caused by the Azerbaijani side entering the Armenian territory to which the Armenians reacted immediately. The International Crisis Group states that the violence erupted after an Azerbaijani military vehicle drove close to the border with Armenia near the Armenian village of Movses.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
The skirmishes continued on 13 July and continued with varying intensity, injuring many, and killing at least 17 military and one civilian. Among Azerbaijani military casualties were one major general, one colonel and two majors. The government of Armenia also reported the deaths of one major, one captain and two sergeants. The skirmishes were conducted mainly through artillery and drones, without infantry.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
Hostilities between the two sides resumed on 27 September 2020, this time in Nagorno-Karabakh and not in the same areas as the July clashes. This ultimately escalated to the scale of full-on warfare, resulting in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Background
The primary matter of contention between the warring sides is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that escalated to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War between 1988 and 1994, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. By the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in full control of the enclave (with the exception of the Shahumyan Province) in addition to areas of Azerbaijan proper connecting the enclave to Armenia. A Russian-brokered ceasefire, the Bishkek Protocol, was signed in May 1994, but numerous violations of the ceasefire have occurred since then, most notably the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes. Skirmishes have also spilled over to the Armenian–Azerbaijani state border outside Nagorno-Karabakh, with the 2012, 2014 and 2018 border clashes being prominent.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Background
Tovuz District, the site of the main skirmishes, lies opposite to Armenia's Tavush Province, in Azerbaijan's northwestern and borderline territories, along the routes of the Baku–Tbilisi–Akhalkalaki–Kars railway, Baku–Supsa Pipeline, Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan oil pipeline, South Caucasus Pipeline, and the Southern Gas Corridor. The Southern Gas Corridor is a major pipeline that carries natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey and Europe through Georgia, located 78 kilometers west of the town of Tovuz.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 12 July
The exact cause of the initial skirmishes has been unclear. At 16:08, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported that starting from the afternoon "units of the Armenian Armed Forces, grossly violating the ceasefire on the direction of the Tovuz region of the Azerbaijani–Armenian state border, fired on our positions using artillery mounts". According to Azerbaijani Meydan TV reporter, Habib Muntazir, artillery fire was also conducted from Goranboy District, but this was not confirmed. In December 2020, the former president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan declared that the Armenian Armed Forces have provoked the clashes by attacking on Azerbaijani territory. In June 2021, the other ex-president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan made similar statements, also adding that "simply drove Azerbaijan into a corner, and Azerbaijan certainly had to do something", referring to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 12 July
Then, at 16:55, Shushan Stepanyan, press secretary of the Armenian Minister of Defence David Tonoyan posted a written statement on her Facebook account. According to Stepanyan, at around 12:30, the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces attempted to cross the state border of Armenia in a UAZ vehicle for unknown reasons. After the warning of the Armenian side, the Azerbaijani servicemen left their vehicle and returned to their position.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 12 July
At 13:45, the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces repeated the attempt to occupy the border position of the Armenian Armed Forces, now using artillery fire, but were pressured by the Armenian side, being thrown back. According to Stepanyan, the vehicle previously controlled by the Azerbaijani servicemen was destroyed shortly after.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 12 July
After that, at 17:20, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence gave a statement about the incident. According to the statement, "as a result of adequate measures taken, the enemy was hit and he was repulsed with losses".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 12 July
In response to statements by Stepanyan regarding the UAZ allegations, the Azerbaijani side stated that "if the Azerbaijani Army wanted to cross the state border of Armenia, it would do so not with cars, but with armored vehicles", and pointed out that the fact that the "protection of the border with Armenia in Qazakh, Ağstafa, Tovuz, Gadabay and Dashkasan was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the State Border Service", and noted that this "confirms that Azerbaijan has no military purpose on the state border".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 12 July
A recording, allegedly recorded by nearby civilians, was published by local Azerbaijani media. In the recording, Azerbaijani soldiers are shouting "Forward, soldier of Azerbaijan", while shooting sounds are heard in the background.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 12 July
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported on 13 July that Armenian forces have attacked Azerbaijani positions in Shahbuz and Julfa districts with large-caliber weapons at 22:45.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 12 July
At 22:50, Shushan Stepanyan stated that "Azerbaijani forces resumed shelling from the 82mm grenade launcher in the direction of our same position from the tank". This report was confirmed by Habib Muntazir who wrote that "the situation in the direction of Tovuz has become tense again. Artillery fire was heard on both sides" in his Twitter account.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 13 July
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported that clashes in Shahbuz–Julfa direction have stopped. According to the report, the use of rocket-propelled grenades and incendiary shells by the Armenian forces resulted in the burning of up to 5 hectares (0.050 km2) of land area.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 13 July
At 1:30, the Azerbaijan State News Agency reported that Armenian forces were shelling Ağdam, Tovuz with 120mm artillery. Stepanyan, in response to the reports, stated that the Armenian forces only targeted the "engineering infrastructure and technical means of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 13 July
At around 14:00, the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, Colonel Vagif Dargahli said that Armenia's "positions, bases, artillery, vehicles, and manpower [deep in the country] were hit" in the morning. A video posted by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence shows an Armenian military base getting destroyed by Azerbaijani artillery fire.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 13 July
At around 17:00, Stepanyan wrote that the "Azerbaijani Armed Forces have fired three projectiles from a 120 mm caliber grenade launcher in the direction of Chinari". According to her, one of the projectiles fell on the house, and two more in a yard. Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence denied these claims and stated that the "Azerbaijani side does not fire on the civilian population and civilian settlements".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 13 July
At 18:45, Dargahli stated that the Armenian Armed Forces have "fired upon Ağdam and Dondar Quşçu villages of Tovuz District with 120mm mortars and D-30 howitzers", with Azerbaijani media sharing images of damaged houses. According to the information given by Ağdam municipality, all of the "women, children and the elderly were evacuated from the village", but "some residents stayed".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
At around 5:30, Azerbaijani local media outlets reported that Armenian units fired at the Azerbaijani positions with large-caliber weapons from 3:00 to 4:00. Azerbaijani journalists in the area reported that more skirmishes occurred at around 7:00. At 7:21, the head of the Head of the Command and Personnel Faculty of the Vazgen Sargsyan Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote that the "night went relatively calm", despite the claims of the Azerbaijani media. Azerbaijani journalists reported that after "a few minutes of silence, the ceasefire was violated again at 8:15".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
At around 9:00, Dargahli stated that the "Armenian Armed Forces fired on Ağdam and Əlibəyli villages of Tovuz District with large-caliber weapons and artillery in the morning", also noting that there were no civilian casualties in the Azerbaijani side. Meanwhile, Stepanyan wrote that Azerbaijani "tank movement was observed from combat positions of the Armenian Armed Forces and was curtailed" by fire from the Armenian side.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
At 09:16, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence issued a statement, saying that the "military units of the armed forces of Armenia violated ceasefire 74 times throughout the day in various direction of the front, using large-caliber machine guns, grenade launchers, sniper rifles, 60, 82 and 120mm mortars and the other artillery mounts to escalate the situation", also noting that the attack was "suppressed by retaliation fire". Then, at 10:30, Dargahli said that the units of the Armenian Armed Forces have "fired at Dondar Quşçu village of Tovuz District with large-caliber weapons and artillery". According to him, civilians were not harmed.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
At 11:16, Stepanyan stated that the Azerbaijani forces have "targeted the civilian infrastructure of Berd with a UAV strikes". According to her, there were no casualties. Less than 10 minutes later, she shared a video of Armenian forces destroying the "Azeri bases that were shelling border settlements in Tavush".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
At 12:51, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence shared a video of Azerbaijani drones destroying Armenia's "military equipment, ammunition, command post, reserves in the depths of its defense and manpower". At about 14:28, Azerbaijani media reported that the Armenian Armed Forces have "opened fire from artillery in the direction of Xanlıqlar village of Qazakh District".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
At 13:00, Armenian media outlets reported that criminal cases have been opened in the Investigative Committee of Armenia on the "fact of shelling of the Tavush branch of the State Border Service of the Police of Armenia, and of shelling of the village of Chinari in the Tavush Province of Armenia by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
At about 14:30, Hovhannisyan reported that on 13 July Armenian-made combat UAVs were "successfully used in action for first time". At about 15:20, Stepanyan shared satellite photos, according to which, Azerbaijani village of Dondar Quşçu was "surrounded by armed battery positions". Stepanyan said that the Azerbaijani side "surrounded its own population with gun batteries, making it become a target". At around 17:50, Armenian media outlets reported that the Armenian side got control of an "important height". Later, Hovhannisyan also stated that the Armenian forces have "gained better positions", with no confirmation from the Azerbaijani side.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
According to the statement issued by Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan, "roofs of houses belonging to residents of Xanlıqlar village, Salmina Aliyeva, Mahbub Orujova, Aziz Shirinov, Ilham Mehdiyev, Razim Musayev and Kamil Jahanov" were damaged due to the "detonation of a projectile fired by a unit of the Armenian Armed Forces at about 15:00".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
At 19:36, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence published a video, where artillery fire from Azerbaijani units allegedly destroyed a "command post of the artillery division of the Armenian Armed Forces". Azerbaijani media outlets reported that the "ceasefire was violated yet again at 19:45". This was confirmed by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence at 20:00, which stated that the "Armenian Armed Forces resumed intensive fire on the settlements of Tovuz District and the positions of our units using large-caliber weapons and artillery at 19.30".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 14 July
A subsidiary of Russian oil and gas company Gazprom, Gazprom Armenia's press service stated that the "gas pipelines have been damaged near the border with Azerbaijan", and the "supply of gas to Nerkin Karmiraghbyur, Aygepar and partly to the settlement of Chinari has been halted" because of this.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 15 July
At 00:00, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence publishes a video, where the "military equipment belonging to the Armenian armed forces" was allegedly "destroyed by the precise fire" of Azerbaijani units. At 7:30 Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence published another video, where the "base of a unit of the Armenian Armed Forces" was allegedly destroyed. At 15:02, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence yet again published a video, and reported that the Armenian forces have allegedly violated the ceasefire in Şərur, Babək and Ordubad districts, also noting that Armenia's "military vehicle moving to the command observation post was destroyed" by Azerbaijani artillery fire. At 16:00, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence published another video, where a "field control post of one of the units of the Armenian Armed Forces" was allegedly "destroyed by the precise fire" of Azerbaijani units.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 15 July
At around 16:00, Hovhannisyan shared a video on his Facebook page and accused Azerbaijan of shelling Armenian villages. Few minutes later, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shared a video of two "Su-30SMS"s taking off, stating that they will "go on combat duty to ensure the inviolability of the Armenian aerial borders". At around 20:00, Stepanyan stated that the "operational situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border remains calm", although "random shootings have been registered from the Azerbaijani side". This was also confirmed by Hovhannisyan.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 16 July
At 05:53, Stepanyan stated that at around 03:40, positions of the Armenian Armed Forces "noticed enemy movement", noting that the Armenian forces repelled Azerbaijan's alleged "attempt of infiltration". According to her, at 05:20, the "Azerbaijani units started shelling the villages of Aygepar, Movses, using mortars and a D-30 howitzer". Dargahli then denied these claims, saying that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces "never fire on settlements" and that on the contrary, the Armenian Armed Forces has "fired on the villages of Ağdam, Dondur Quşçu and Vahidli in the Tovuz District" this morning, where shells have "hit residential buildings".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 16 July
Azerbaijani media outlets reported that the tensions yet again aggravated at about 4:00. Also, reports were made about one of the artillery shells "fired by the Armenian forces" hitting the "yard of a house in Dondar Quşçu". At 8:00, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence confirmed these claims, stating that "Ağdam, Dondar Quşçu and Vahidli villages were fired upon with large-caliber weapons and mortars", noting that "no one was injured among the civilian population".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 16 July
At about 12:50, Armenian media outlets claimed that the Azerbaijani shelling have "damaged a bakery and an adjacent house in Chinari". Then, at about 15:13 the Armenian Ministry of Defense stated that "at this moment there is no need to volunteer" and expressed its deep gratitude to the Armenian "citizens for their readiness to support the defense of the homeland's borders".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 16 July
But at about 16:30, Dargahli claimed that the "recent heavy losses of the Armenian Army in the battles on the border with Azerbaijan forced the Armenian Defense Ministry to arm anyone who can handle a weapon". He also noted that the "leadership of the Armenian Army is urgently mobilizing former servicemen, conscripts, including the second and third groups of the disabled, as well as prisoners to the Tavush Province". In addition to that, he stated that "there are large gaps in the border among the enemy's personnel".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 16 July
At 21:00, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence published a video, where an Azerbaijani artillery fire allegedly destroys "military barracks belonging to the Armenian Armed Forces". An hour later, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence published another video, this time showing an Azerbaijani artillery fire allegedly destroying "vehicles that delivered the Armenian reserve forces to" the Armenian battle positions.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 17 July
At 10:05, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense issued a statement, reporting that the Armenian Armed Forces "violated ceasefire 97 times throughout the day in various direction of the front". According to the ministry, the Armenian Armed Forces fired upon the Azerbaijani positions in Ağdam, and Muncuqlu in Tovuz, and Zamanlı in Gadabay.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 17 July
At about 11:00, at a daily briefing, Hovhannisyan stated that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces "violated the ceasefire regime about 120 times along the entire perimeter of the border", noting that artillery was not used.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 18 July
At 09:58, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence issued a statement, reporting that the Armenian Armed Forces "violated ceasefire 53 times throughout the day in various direction of the front, using large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles". According to the ministry, Armenian Armed Forces fired upon the "positions of the Azerbaijan Army located" in Ağdam, Tovuz, and in Göyəlli, Gadabay.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 18 July
The Armenian side reported that the night on the border passed quite calmly, but the Azerbaijani side "violated the ceasefire several times, opening fire from small arms at the positions of the Armenian forces".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 19 July
At 10:00, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence issued a statement, reporting that the "military units of the Armed Forces of Armenia violated ceasefire 70 times throughout the day in various direction of the front, using large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles". According to the ministry, Armenian forces fired upon Zamanlı in Gadabay.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 19 July
The Armenian Ministry of Defense stated that the night at the border was relatively calm. In some parts of the border, however, "Azerbaijani troops fired about 70 shots".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 20 July
At 09:29, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence issued a statement, reporting that the "military units of the Armed Forces of Armenia violated ceasefire 60 times throughout the day in various direction of the front, using large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles". According to the ministry, Armenian forces fired upon Koxanəbi, Əsrik Cırdaxan in Tovuz, and Zamanlı in Gadabay.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 21 July
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense stated that at night, around 00:30 near  Agdam and in the morning at 08:45 near Tovuz two Armenian UAVs attempted to conduct reconnaissance, but were shot down by the Azerbaijani Air Defense Forces. The Armenian Ministry of Defense denied the Azerbaijani statement, calling it disinformation and lies, adding that if there is such a case, the Armenian side will be the first to report it.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 21 July
According to the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, Armenian forces violated the ceasefire along the line of contact, to which Azerbaijani units responded. According to the Azerbaijani MoD two Armenian servicemen were seriously wounded.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 22 July
In the morning, the press secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry Shushan Stepanyan stated that at night the Azerbaijani forces had tried to seize the "Fearless" post, but were thrown back by the fire of the Armenian forces, suffering significant losses, while the Armenian side had no casualties or wounded. The press secretary added that some Azerbaijani servicemen were cut off from the main unit of the troops and were in a blockade. Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense  denied this information claiming that there was no new attack in that direction and no losses from Azerbaijan. However, according to the head of press service of the Ministry of Defense Vagif Dargahli, on the other side of the border, there was panic among the Armenian servicemen, shots from small arms were heard at the positions of the Armenian Armed Forces.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 22 July
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense stated that at the Agdam direction one Armenian UAV attempted to perform reconnaissance, but were shot down by the Azerbaijani Air Defense Forces.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 23 July
At 09:30, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence issued a statement, reporting that the "military units of the Armed Forces of Armenia had violated ceasefire 47 times throughout the day in various direction of the front". According to the ministry, Armenian forces fired upon Ağdam in Tovuz, and military positions in Gadabay.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 24 July
At 09:26, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence issued a statement, reporting that the "military units of the Armed Forces of Armenia had violated ceasefire 45 times throughout the day in various direction of the front". According to the ministry, Armenian forces fired upon Ağdam, and Ağbulaq in Tovuz.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 24 July
Later, the Armenian Ministry of Defence issued a press release, reporting that the "military positions located near the settlements of Chiva, Khndzorut, Movses, Paravakar, the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire four times with firearms, firing about 28 shots at the Armenian positions".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 25 July
At 09:30, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence issued a statement, reporting that the "military units of the Armed Forces of Armenia violated ceasefire 35 times throughout the day in various direction of the front, using sniper rifles". According to the ministry, Armenian forces fired upon Ağdam in Tovuz, and military positions in Gadabay.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 26 July
At 09:44, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence issued a statement, reporting that the "military units of the Armed Forces of Armenia violated the ceasefire 60 times throughout the day in various direction of the front, using large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles". According to the ministry, Armenian forces fired upon Koxanebi in Tovuz, and Zamanlı in Gadabay.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 27 July
At 01:10, the Armenian soldier Ashot Mikaelyan was shot and killed by an Azerbaijani sniper.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 28 July
At 08:55, the press secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry Shushan Stepanyan issued a statement, reporting that "the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire 17 times, firing about 220 shots", adding that the shots were mainly fired at the military positions located in the direction of Chinari, Tsghun, Zangakatun, Chiva communities.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 29 July
At 08:55, the press secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry Shushan Stepanyan issued a statement, reporting that "the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime 22 times from firearms, firing 497 shots at the Armenian positions", adding that the shots were mainly fired at the military positions located in the direction of Kolagir, Movses, Nerkin Karmiraghbyur, Koti, Yeraskh, Chiva, Zangakatun, Yelpin, Bardzruni, Angeghakot communities.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Timeline, 30 July
At 09:05, the press secretary of the Armenian Defense Ministry Shushan Stepanyan issued a statement, reporting that "the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime 15 times, firing nearly 120 shots from firearms at the Armenian positions”. Shooting was reported in the direction of the military positions located near the villages of Chinari, Aygedzor, Movses, Paravakar, Koti, Yeraskh, Areni and Zangakatun. Shushan Stepanyan informed that the Azerbaijani side also fired ineffective shots twice from Igla-S and OSA-AK surface-to-air missile systems.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Cyber attacks
On 14 July, Azerbaijani hackers attacked more than 30 Armenian websites, including the official websites of the Armenian government, and the Prime Minister of Armenia, posting slogans such as "Soldier of Azerbaijan", and "Karabakh is Azerbaijan, and exclamation mark", with the pictures of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Mubariz Ibrahimov. In response, the Armenian side turned off the access to these websites. According to Samvel Martirosyan, no confidential information was leaked as result of the attacks, which was allegedly carried by "Anti- Armenia Team" hacker group.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Cyber attacks
Then, at 19:46, Samvel Martirosyan reported on his Facebook page that one of the Armenian hacker teams had attacked, and hacked the Wi-Fi devices of about two thousand households and offices in Azerbaijan, and changed their DNS settings. In addition to that, at 20:03, "Monte Melkonian Cyber Army" claimed that they broke into the database of the Azerbaijani Navy.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Cyber attacks
On 15 July, Martirosyan reported that Armenian hackers had attacked the official website of the "Anti- Armenia Team".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 12 July, Armenian Ministry of Defence reported that there were no casualties on the Armenian side. Despite that, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported that both sides had suffered casualties.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 13 July, Dargahli claimed that Armenian forces suffered "heavy losses" as a result of Azerbaijani artillery attacks conducted in the early morning. Later, Stepanyan wrote that two Armenian police officers who "carried out duty at the border" sustained minor injuries from the use of weapons by the Azerbaijani forces, while Chobanyan stated that 3 soldiers were wounded.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
At 21:00, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported that "firing positions, radar station of the intelligence unit, storage for military vehicles, tanks, armored personnel carriers, more than 20 [military] personnel, battalion headquarters, and military infrastructure units" of the Armenian Armed Forces were 'completely destroyed', but these claims were denied by Hovhannisyan.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 14 July, at around 13:20 Deputy Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Karim Valiyev reported that "about 100 troops, a large number of military and transport equipment, and important facilities" of the Armenian Armed Forces have been destroyed. At 14:42, Stepanyan confirmed that two Armenian soldiers have been KIA. At around 16:00, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported that a "UAV belong to the Armenian Armed Forces was shot down" and that an "artillery device located in the firing position of Armenians together with combat personnel was destroyed by the accurate fire" of the Azerbaijani units. At around 18:15, Armenian Ministry of Defence confirmed that two more Armenian soldiers were KIA.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 15 July, Stepanyan stated that ten Armenian servicemen were injured in total, while one of them was "in an extremely serious condition".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 16 July, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported that an Armenian "X-55" UAV was "immediately detected and destroyed". This claim was later denied by Stepanyan. Hovhannisyan then reported that Aramayis Hovakimyan, a resident of Chinari, was "injured after the strike of the combat UAV of the Azerbaijani side". At 17:35, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence claimed that 20 more Armenian servicemen were killed, while another armored vehicle was destroyed. Despite that, the Armenian Ministry of Defense denied these statements.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 17 July, the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia issued a statement, confirming that 36 Armenian soldiers were wounded. 20 of them were hospitalized, and received appropriate medical care, while the other 16 servicemen had minor injuries.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 22 July, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry claimed that an X-55 UAV was shot down while on reconnaissance mission over Azerbaijani positions near Ağdam.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 12 July, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence initially reported that 2 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed, while 5 were wounded in the clashes. A few hours later, it was reported that one of the wounded soldiers died despite medical intervention. Hovhannisyan stated that the "enemy did not suffer only human losses. They also lost a precious bird", but Azerbaijan Ministry of Defence denied these claims.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 13 July, Dargahli said that the number of Azerbaijani casualties had risen, with an additional soldier dying. Three hours later, Armenian media shared an image of allegedly downed Azerbaijani UAV. Then, Armenian MP Andranik Kocharyan stated that the Armenian Armed Forces have shot down "several drones of the Azerbaijani side, one of which is a kamikaze drone".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 14 July, Azerbaijani media reported that 76 year old Aziz Azizov, a civilian residing in Ağdam, died as a result of Armenian artillery fire, which was confirmed by Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan the next that. Later that day, Valiyev said that Major General Polad Hashimov and Colonel Ilgar Mirzayev were killed during the fighting in the morning. Five more soldiers were confirmed KIA afterwards. At 18:45, Stepanyan shared a video, where Armenian forces allegedly shot down an Azerbaijani "Elbit Hermes 900" UAV. Azerbaijani side denied losing any of its drones.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
Hovhanisyan then stated that there was "no clear and conclusive information about the human losses suffered" by the Azerbaijani side, but noted the 11 confirmed KIAs.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 15 July, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "sent condolences to the families of General Polad Hashimov and Colonel Ilgar Mirzayev". Stepanyan reported that the "defense units of the Armenian Armed Forces have shot down 13 UAVs" of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, "10 of which were for combat, and 3 were reconnaissance". But this claim was denied by Dargahli next day.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Casualties
On 16 July, Stepanyan wrote that "after a fierce battle", the Azerbaijani forces were "thwarted back, suffering losses". She later said that Armenian units have damaged the Azerbaijani "tanks, artillery and firing positions", but Dargahli denied this claim. At 17:35, Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence confirmed that Private Nazim Afgan oglu Ismaliyov was KIA. claimed that Armenia had "photo evidence of the removal of 10 corpses of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces from the territory of Armenia".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 12 July, Anna Naghdalyan, spokeswoman of Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs accused Azerbaijani Armed Forces of violating the ceasefire and condemned the Azerbaijani government for it. According to Naghdalyan, the "entire responsibility for the provocative actions carried out in the face of these threats lies with the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Hayk Chobanyan, Governor of Tavush Province stated that "the army is in full control of the situation, there is no need to worry and panic".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia shared a video posted by his wife Anna Hakobyan a few days ago, where a girl dances to the song "Our Name is the Armenian Army" in the yard of a private house.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 13 July, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding "unconditional support" stated by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, condemning "Turkey's attempts to instigate instability" in the region.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Armenian MP Tigran Karapetyan said that the "military-political leadership of Azerbaijan did not learn from the slap in the face received yesterday, 12 July. Well, the choice is theirs, the answer will be very painful" and that the "leadership of the Republic of Armenia will not hesitate for a second, nor will it hesitate for a second to give an order to destroy any target when it comes to the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh. This adventure will have irreversible consequences for Azerbaijan".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Naghdalyan wrote on her Facebook page that Armenia strongly condemns Azerbaijan's "ongoing attempts to maintain tensions in the northeastern part of the Armenian–Azerbaijani border", and the "criminal targeting of the population of Chinari, Aygepar villages of Tavush Province, which is a clear violation of international humanitarian law". She also noted that Azerbaijan must "unconditionally stop such actions, take the necessary steps to prevent further tensions, for which it bears full responsibility".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
At around 22:52, Hovhannisyan wrote on his Facebook page: "I really like the D-30. Ağdam and D-30 are for each other. Both Ağdams".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 14 July, Armenia's permanent and plenipotentiary representative to CSTO Permanent Council Viktor Biyagov presented the situation on the Azerbaijani–Armenian border, saying Armenia calls its "allies to demonstrate solidarity and support in line with the nature of the CSTO Charter".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 15 July, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian stated that Azerbaijan has a "complete lack of responsibility and humanity" to "impose military actions" in the "days of the general spread of the coronavirus". He also noted that "if Azerbaijan prefers the language of force, then the Armenian Army is ready to give a worthy response to save the lives of its citizens".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 16 July, Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement, accusing Azerbaijan of "criminally targeting the civilian infrastructure", and noting that the "aggressive action took place in a treacherous violation of the earlier ceasefire agreement". At noon, Stepanyan stated that if the Azerbaijani Armed Forces "stop the fire and favorable conditions are created, the Armenian side is ready to permit the recovery and retrieval of the Azerbaijani killed and injured from the battlefield".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Then, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement, saying that the actions threatened by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan are "a flagrant violation of the International Humanitarian Law in general and the First Additional Protocol to Geneva Conventions in particular", and "an explicit demonstration of state terrorism and genocidal intent of Azerbaijan".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 17 July at a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union Intergovernmental Council in Minsk, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the "aggression of Azerbaijan took place at a time when the economy and health care of all countries of the World are experiencing stress". The Prime Minister noted that Azerbaijan's "aggressive policy is directed nowhere", and that a "prerequisite for a successful fight against the pandemic is the preservation of peace and the absence of armed conflicts". Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan has taken "military action on the north-eastern border of Armenia.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
The Armenian Armed Forces did not fail to respond to provocative actions. Unfortunately, they continue to this day, contributing to tensions. Azerbaijan's aggressive policy, escalating leads nowhere. It will not be able to break our resolve and make unreasonable and unilateral concessions". He also noted that there is "no military solution to the conflict and there is no alternative to peace negotiations".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 18 July, the press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry categorically denied all allegations of "Armenia wanting to lure the CSTO into the conflict", noting that Armenia do not need help. According to her, "Armenia, as a member state of the CSTO, considered itself obliged to notify its colleagues and structural partners about what is happening on the border".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 19 July, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, in an interview with Sky News Arabia, calling the skirmishes a "renewed attempt by Azerbaijan by way of attacking Armenia on 12 July to once again attempt to impose unilateral concessions from Armenia on the question of Nagorno-Karabakh", and that the "ongoing rhetoric, the very aggressive, inflammatory, warmongering rhetoric of Azerbaijani leadership addressed to Armenia, and the Armenian people in general, the territorial, historical claims to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the use of force, the threat of force, have been the clear underlying reason" of the skirmishes.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 30 July, Armenia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General condemning "the instigation of inter-ethnic clashes and violence against the Armenian communities in various parts of the world".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
He noted that the "violent attacks perpetrated against ethnic Armenians in different parts of the world, involving the deliberate damage and destruction of property belonging to Armenians, including the vandalization of a school and other disruptive acts of ethnically motivated violence and aggression" were carried out with the "direct participation of Azerbaijani officials", and "the hateful and racist rhetoric dominating the political discourse of the Azerbaijani leadership constitutes all elements of incitement to violence and represents a significant indicator of risk of atrocity crimes".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 12 July, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Hikmat Hajiyev accused the Armenian government of "aggravating the situation and diverting attention from domestic problems against the background of socio-economic problems exacerbated by the spread of COVID-19 in Armenia as a result of incomplete policy". Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported that no loss of territory occurred from the Azerbaijani side during the clashes.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 13 July President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended an online meeting with the Azerbaijan Security Council. There, he accused Armenia of starting the military confrontation, claimed that "all the responsibility lies with the military-political leadership of Armenia", and noted that military representatives of foreign countries operating in Azerbaijan will be invited to the area to "let them see the situation with their own eyes" as soon as the operational situation allows. Then, said that the "blood of our servicemen and martyrs has not remained and will not remain on the ground.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
We will use every opportunity to defend ourselves and show the enemy their place again". He also talked about Armenia's "incomprehensible position" in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that "how can it be that at a time when Azerbaijan demands that the whole world unites in this struggle, Armenia has opposed it".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Polad Bülbüloğlu, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Russia said that "Azerbaijan will never accept the loss of 20 percent of its territory".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Ali Ahmedov, Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Deputy Chairman-Executive Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party said that the "Azerbaijani army, our knightly soldiers heroically prevented the provocations of the depraved Armenian bandits on the line of contact in the direction of Tovuz, and responded to the enemy with dignity."


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Azerbaijani MP Mazahir Afandiyev said that "all provocative attempts of the Armenian side are doomed to failure", while Chairwoman of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of Azerbaijan Republic Hijran Huseynova said that the "Azerbaijani army is ready to prevent any provocation of the enemy".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Gudsi Osmanov, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Moldova said that "against the background of the spread of COVID-19, the Armenian leadership is trying to divert attention from the socio-economic problems in the country by committing provocations against Azerbaijan with such acts of aggression. With this provocation, the Armenian leadership is trying to solve its domestic policy problems at the expense of the image of a "foreign enemy" by focusing on Azerbaijan".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Erkin Gadirli, Azerbaijani MP and co-founder of the Republican Alternative Party wrote on his Facebook page: "Do not listen to those who try to distract you from the main goal. We all have one enemy – Armenia. Armenians do not divide us into rightist or leftist, rich or poor, liberal or conservative, pro-government or anti-government, religious or atheist, Turk, Talysh, Tat, Lezgin and so on. They see us as the same – enemy".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 14 July, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva visited Ağdam, which was "subjected to the artillery fire from the Armenian Armed Forces". She also visited the house of a resident of the village, 76-year-old Aziz Azizov, who was reportedly as a result of artillery shelling. She said that Armenia, "continuing its aggressive and occupational policy, grossly violated Article 18 of the Geneva Convention", that she condemned this act, and that she will "inform the relevant international structures about it as soon as possible".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Hajiyev said that Armenia's "impunity tempts it to further military adventures and provocations. The international community, as well as the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, must redouble their efforts. Armenia is trying to create another source of conflict in the region on the border between the two countries" and that this is Armenia's "irresponsible actions to threaten the already sensitive regional peace and security".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
Leyla Abdullayeva, Chief of the Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan posted a tweet saying that the Armenian forces targeted "civilians living in the villages of Tovuz district along the state border of Azerbaijan & Armenia" and that the "aggressive & terrorist nature of Armenia is again revealed".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 15 July, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, at the cabinet meeting on results of socio-economic development in first quarter of 2020 and future tasks, said that after committing "dirty acts and receiving a worthy response from the Azerbaijani army, Armenia immediately turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization and asked it for help, immediately raised a hue and cry, asking it not to let us strangle them, destroy them", also noting that "Azerbaijan did not violate the state border of Armenia, did not commit provocations and did not invade the territory of Armenia", questioning the relevance of the skirmishes to the CSTO. He then stated that "this step demonstrates their helplessness and cowardice. It shows that they cannot resist Azerbaijan on their own and they know that", saying that Armenia's "appeal to the CSTO is another manifestation of their cowardice".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 16 July, the head of the press service of the Ministry of Defence Vagif Dargahli, as an answer to a local journalist's question about the threat of the ex-Defence Minister of Armenia Ter-Tadevosyan's alleged suggestion of "using Mingachevir reservoir as a target", told that the "relief of the territory where the Mingachevir reservoir is located, the strengthening work implemented in this building, as well as modern air assault tools at the disposal of our Air Defense Forces do not allow to hit our strategic object".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
In addition to that, he stated that the "Armenian side should not forget that the latest missile systems that are in the arsenal of our army make it possible to hit the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant with high accuracy, which can lead to a great catastrophe for Armenia". Then, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that "some diplomats have betrayed the state, and are not hiding it", also noting that they "are under the control of the special services of the countries where they live". In addition to that, he said that Azerbaijan has "enough information".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 18 July, Bülbüloğlu stated that "Armenia's actions are a provocation aimed at luring the CSTO countries, especially Russia as the main member of the bloc to this conflict, since it did not occur on the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh, but on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 21 July, during a press conference, Hajiyev said that the "provocation committed by Armenia on July 12 in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz in the Azerbaijani-Armenian border was pre-planned", was "aimed at diverting attention from the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, aggravating the situation on the border and endangering the region, involving third parties in the conflict, damaging the international success of Azerbaijan, the East-West Transport Corridor, bringing the region face to face with new environmental threats".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
In addition to that, he stated that Azerbaijan is not "going to participate in the imitated negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", and that "mandate envisions holding negotiations, guided by international principles, the Helsinki Final Act and UN Security Council resolutions". Then, he added that "in contrast to Armenia, Azerbaijan has never planned attacks on civilian targets. The Armenian side is deliberately trying to politicize the problem by spreading such misinformation. The Azerbaijani side has never voiced the idea of attacking civilian targets.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
The Armenian side, however, has repeatedly made threatening statements about striking the Mingachevir water reservoir, oil and gas pipelines and cities of Azerbaijan". In addition to that, he said that the "Armenian military and political leadership creates bogus companies, and weapons purchased at low prices are then sold to third parties", noting that "there is strong evidence that these weapons fall into the hands of terrorists", calling on the "countries cooperating with Armenia to be more careful".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
On 22 July, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, during a phone call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, expressed his "gratitude to the UN Secretary-General for his phone call and personal attention to the events at the border". Aliyev said that the "Armenian side had fired not only on Azerbaijani military but also targeted Azerbaijani villages, killing a 76-year-old civilian along with the Azerbaijani servicemen".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Detention of Rahim Gaziyev
On 13 July, Azerbaijani State Security Service and Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a statement, accusing former Azerbaijani Defense Minister Rahim Gaziyev of deliberately spreading "untrue information about the nature of the events on social network platforms", acting "to weaken the defense capabilities of the Republic of Azerbaijan", and inciting "riots and violent seizure of state power". Gaziyev was detained as a suspect in a criminal case under Articles 281 (public incitement against the state) and 282 (provocation) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Gaziyev's daughter Sevinj Jamilova said that "these criminal codes have nothing to do with my father".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Dismissal of Elmar Mammadyarov
On 16 July, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev conducted an online meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers. There, he criticized the Foreign Ministry, being unable to find the Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Dismissal of Elmar Mammadyarov
Stating that while "the Prime Minister is at work, I am at work until the morning, the Minister of Defense, the Chief of General Staff, as well as the Chief of the State Security Service, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service, and the Secretary of the Security Council are at work until the early hours of the morning", Aliyev asked about Foreign Minister's whereabouts. Prime Minister Ali Asadov replied that Mammadyarov was "working from home". Mammadyarov was dismissed from his position a few hours later. Jeyhun Bayramov was swiftly appointed as a new Foreign Minister.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Georgia and Serbia's involvement
On 19 July, Haqqin.az, a news website tied to the Azerbaijani security services, reported that several days before the attack and during the height of hostilities, a large batch of mortar ammunition of various calibers was delivered from Serbia, which acquired a license to export armaments to Armenia in 2019, through Georgia to Armenia.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Georgia and Serbia's involvement
The next day, Danica Veinović, chargé d'Affaires of Serbia in Azerbaijan, was summoned by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and met with Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov. Khalafov said that "according to reliable and confirmed information, a large amount of ammunition was sent from Serbia to Armenia, including mortars and ammunition of various calibers". In response, Veinović said that she had no information about the mentioned issues, promised to deliver the information to the Serbian side.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Georgia and Serbia's involvement
Salome Samadashvili, a leader of the Georgia's opposition party United National Movement said that Georgia knows that "Russia’s policy of destabilizing the region is partly based on supplying arms to both Armenia and Azerbaijan", and that Georgia has "an international obligation not to transport military cargo through Georgia to any of the parties to the conflict", calling on the "Foreign Ministry to lend clarity to this issue immediately". Gia Volski, the deputy speaker of the Georgian Parliament and a senior member of the ruling Georgian Dream party, dismissed the report as nothing but gossip, saying that "there are several media outlets – both in Azerbaijan and Georgia – that unfortunately picked up this rumor".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Georgia and Serbia's involvement
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia then issued a statement, calling the claims of the transportation of military ammunition to Armenia from Serbia through the territory of Georgia "disinformative", and noting that it is "aimed at artificially creating problems on relations between the two strategic partners".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Georgia and Serbia's involvement
On 21 July, Rasim Ljajić, Serbian Minister of Trade, Deputy Prime Minister confirmed weapon exportation to Armenia. According to him, weapons, for which the approval of four Serbian ministries was obtained, were exported by a private company in May and June. Ljajić said that everything was legal since there had not been sanctions implemented by international organizations against Armenia. He added that total cost of the armaments does not exceed a million euros.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Georgia and Serbia's involvement
On 23 July, Khalafov stated that "an investigation into the Armenian attacks revealed that the weapons were of Serbian origin." Deputy Foreign Minister noted that the Ministry is awaiting official comments by Serbia regarding the final remarks of Azerbaijan.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Georgia and Serbia's involvement
On 31 July, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, answered a question about weapon sales to Armenia. He said that both Armenia and Azerbaijan are friendly countries for Serbia, and weapons produced by Serbia are sold to both. He noted, that "over the past few years, we have sold ten times more weapons to Azerbaijan".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Jordan's involvement
On 24 July, Haqqin.az, yet again published a report, this time accusing the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan of "exporting weapons to Armenia". The next day, Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa wrote on his Facebook page that if the "investigation by haqqin.az is confirmed true", he "will resign from the Azerbaijan-Jordan inter-parliamentary working group". He added that as a "devout Muslim", he considers someone who "arms an enemy who is killing Muslims more dangerous than the Armenians".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Jordan's involvement
On 27 July, the Ambassador of Jordan to Azerbaijan was summoned to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Araz Azimov and the Jordanian Ambassador Sami Abdullah Ghosheh held a meeting. Azimov said that the "reports on Jordan's arms sales to Armenia caused dissatisfaction in the public when Armenia's recent military provocation on the international border of the two countries has demonstrated its aggressive intentions".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Israel's involvement
Armenian officials and media outlets reported that during the clashes Armenia had successfully downed Israeli-made drones operated by Azerbaijan. On 29 July, Armenian minister of foreign affairs Zohrab Mnatsakanyan told The Jerusalem Post, "Arms trade to Azerbaijan is fatal, because Azerbaijan never hesitates to use those weapons against civilian infrastructure, the civilian population". He further said, "Israel needs to halt all weapon sales to Azerbaijan"; he promised that the Ministry would "consistently pursue this issue". In 2016, Azerbaijani president Aliyev revealed that his country had signed $5 billion worth of long-term contracts with Israel to buy weapons and security equipment.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Azerbaijani–Turkish military exercises
Armenian authorities accused Turkey for "resorting to unprecedented threats against Armenia and unilateral support to Azerbaijan" during the clashes. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the holding of joint Turkey-Azerbaijan large-scale military exercises "further aggravates the situation". On 29 July, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE circulated a note verbale informing that the Republic of Armenia will suspend military inspections and guest inspectors from Turkey under the CFE treaty and the Vienna Document on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Azerbaijani–Turkish military exercises
On 31 July, during a telephone call to Erdogan President Ilham Aliyev highly appreciated the "strong support of the President of Turkey in connection with the recent events on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Azerbaijani–Turkish military exercises
In an interview to RFE/RL, Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said that the reason for Turkey's recent support to Azerbaijan is the "serious failures of the Ilham Aliyev's administration" during the Tavush clashes.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Vandalism in KZV Armenian School
On 24 July, KZV Armenian School and its adjacent Armenian Community Center in San Francisco were vandalized with racist anti-Armenian graffiti. The messages contained curse words and appeared to be connected to increased tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi noted that the "KZV Armenian School is a part of the beautiful fabric of our San Francisco family. The hateful defacing of this place of community and learning is a disgrace".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Vandalism in KZV Armenian School
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and lieutenant governor of California Eleni Kounalakis also condemned the act. California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote that "these acts of hatred have no place in California". California State Senator Anthony Portantino called "on Azerbaijan to stop the unprovoked violence on the Armenian border and end this assault on American institutions where we send our children”.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Military awards
Four Armenian servicemen who were killed on 14 July were posthumously awarded with the decrees of the Armenian President Armen Sarkissian. By a Presidential decree, the commanders of 1st and 5th Army Corps, Colonel Zhirayr Poghosyan and Colonel Andranik Piloyan, who took part in the skirmishes, were awarded the rank of Major General.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Military awards
On 25 July, by the decree of the President of Armenia, a private of the Armed Forces of Armenia Artur Muradyan was posthumously awarded the medal "For Combat Service".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Aftermath, Military awards
On 14 August, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has signed a petition asking President Armen Sarkissian to award a group of participants of the clashes with the first and second class Order of The Combat Cross, as well as to honor captain Ruben Sanamyan with the title of National Hero of Armenia. On 18 August, by the President Sarkissian's decree,  Ruben Sanamyan has been awarded the Order of the Homeland and the highest title of National Hero of Armenia for "exceptional courage, selflessness and bravery in ensuring the defense and security of the homeland". 199 more servicemen of Armenia have been awarded state awards.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
On 13 July, Bagrat Galstanyan, Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church said that "no matter how much the enemy forces try to cause trouble, this is our village, our people, peaceful and calm, ready for anything at any moment" and that the Armenian people are "in this situation together. Both the losses and achievements are ours".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
On 15 July, several dozen representatives of the youth wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation held a rally in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Yerevan and poured borscht on the building, because of the statement issues by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on 13 July.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
Turkey's support to Azerbaijan during the clashes and Erdogan's subsequent statements are seen by many ethnic Armenians as a demonstration of Turkey's genocidal intentions.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
On 12 July, a few hours after the initial clashes, civilians in Ağdam village held a demonstration in support of the Azerbaijani soldiers.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
At around 23:00, mass pro-war protests erupted in Qobu, where Azerbaijani IDPs live. Protesters shouted "Karabakh! ", "Freedom! ", and "Martyrs do not die, the homeland will not be divided" while moving to Freedom Square. Local police intervened, but were initially not able to stop the protesters. At around 1:00, protestors reached Sabail. Protesters were broadcasting the events via Facebook Live. Around 30 thousand people were watching it. At around 1:40, Rapid Police Unit dispersed the crowd, and live-stream was deleted.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
At around 03:20, pro-war protests erupted in Xocəsən, which lasted for 20 minutes until Rapid Police Unit and Internal Troops intervened.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
At around 20:00, a group of protesters with Azerbaijani and Turkish flags gathered in Tovuz District to support the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. The protesters, who showed the "Grey Wolves gesture", chanted slogans such as "we are fearless Turks!" and "long live Azerbaijan!". The protesters wanted to voluntarily join the army.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
On 14 July, at around 16:00, "Karabakh March" started in Sumqayıt and Əhmədli, where hundreds of participants shouted chants such as "Azerbaijan! ", "Karabakh is ours! ", "Martyrs do not die, the homeland will not be divided", and "You have a martyr, Sumqayıt". The demonstrations then spread to others parts of Baku, gathering thousands of participants. According to the participants, there were around 15 thousand demonstrators when they reached the Maiden Tower. At 23:30, the demonstrators reached Martyrs' Lane, shouting chants like "Either Karabakh, or death!" and "Let the quarantine end, let the war begin!". BBC News reported that up to 30 thousand demonstrators took the streets. According to Muntazir, there were about 10 thousand demonstrators at the end of the initial demonstrations.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
After the initial demonstrations, a smaller group breached the National Assembly. The demonstrators, who gathered on the first floor of the National Assembly, damaged number of the properties of the Parliament that worths 22,150 AZN in total. Police called on the demonstrators to leave the building and they were evicted from the parliament building. Despite that, some demonstrators started to throw stones at police officers, and injured seven police officers. In addition to that, the demonstrators turned over and damaged two cars owned by State Traffic Police Department, and damaged 14 more state-owned cars.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
In a screed delivered on 15 July, the day after the rally, President Aliyev targeted the largest opposition party, the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan. He declared that “we need to finish with the ‘fifth column‘" and the Popular Front is “worse than the Armenians.” Azerbaijani security services began arresting party members and others. According to Azerbaijani sources as many as 120 people are currently held in jail, including some deputy leaders of the party as well as journalists.


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, Domestic reactions
On 20 July the U.S. State Department urged Azerbaijan to avoid using the pandemic to silence “civil society advocacy, opposition voices, or public discussion.” On 13 August the Amnesty International also urged to end the "violent persecution of opposition activists". These actions are widely seen as an attempt "to eliminate pro-democracy advocates and political rivals once and for all".


2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, Reactions, International reactions
Representatives of Cyprus and the United States condemned Azerbaijan, whereas representatives of Pakistan and Turkey as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Turkic Council condemned Armenia.


2020 Army Black Knights football team
The 2020 Army Black Knights football team represented the United States Military Academy as an independent in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Black Knights were led by seventh-year head coach Jeff Monken and played their home games at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York


2020 Army Black Knights football team
In a season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Knights compiled a 9–2 regular season record. They defeated the Midshipmen of Navy and the Air Force Falcons to secure Army's ninth Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, their third in four seasons.


2020 Army Black Knights football team
On October 24, the Black Knights became the first team of the 2020 season to accept a bowl invitation, to the Independence Bowl. However, that bowl was canceled on December 20, due to a lack of available teams, leaving Army without a bowl game. Athletic director Mike Buddie said that "the team will continue to look for an opponent." On December 21, the Black Knights were named to the Liberty Bowl, after Tennessee had to withdraw due to positive COVID-19 testing within their program. Army went on to lose to West Virginia in the bowl, finishing the season with a 9–3 record.


2020 Army Black Knights football team
Following the completion of the season, the Black Knights were awarded the 2020 Lambert Trophy by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and Metropolitan New York Football Writers, signifying them as the best team in the East in Division I FBS. This was the ninth overall time the Lambert Trophy had been awarded to Army, and the second in three years (2018).


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Previous season
The Black Knights finished the 2019 season with a record of 5–8, finished in third place for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy following losses to Air Force and Navy, and missed out on a bowl for the first time since 2015.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
Following the completion of the 2019 season, reports surfaced that a staff shake-up was coming at Army. On December 20, reporter Pate Thamel of Yahoo Sports initially reported that John Loose would be moved out of the defensive coordinator position to assistant head coach and that wide receivers coach Marcus Edwards would not return to the staff. On December 21, former beat reporter Sal Interdonato, now with Black Knight Nation, confirmed Thamel's information and added that defensive line coach Kevin Lewis and outside linebackers coach Matt Hachmann, both of whom joined the Army staff for the 2019 season, would not be returning in 2020.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
This was confirmed on January 2, when Nate Woody was announced by head coach Jeff Monken as Army's new defensive coordinator (DC). He had previously spent the 2019 season as a defensive analyst for Michigan, helping the Wolverines to edge out Army in double overtime. Prior to that he was the defensive coordinator under Monken-mentor Paul Johnson at Georgia Tech in 2018, the DC at Appalachian State from 2013-2017 during their transition into the FBS, and the DC at Wofford from 2000-2012, who were fellow SoCon members with Jeff Monken-coached Georgia Southern. Included in the news of Woody's hire was that former DC John Loose would be elevated to Assistant Head Coach in addition to serving as a position coach.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
On January 8, Troy announced that they had hired away assistant strength and conditioning (S&C) coach Rusty Whitt to be the new head football S&C coach for the Trojans. Whitt had joined the Black Knights' staff for the 2019 season following nine seasons as the head S&C coach at Louisiana and Texas Tech.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
On January 10, Keith Gaither was announced as the new wide receivers (WR) coach. He had previously served as the WR coach at Army in 2015 and 2016 before moving on to be the passing game coodinator/WR coach at East Carolina. Gaither spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons at ECU before being let go with the rest of Scottie Montgomery's staff. He spent the 2019 season as the WR coach at Western Michigan.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
On January 16, Sal Interdonato and Black Knight Nation reported that inside linebackers coach Kevin Corless, who had been on the Army staff since Monken's first year in 2014, would not be returning for the 2020 season. Additionally, he reported that Greg Gasparato was expected to join the defensive staff. This was confirmed two days later on January 18 when Gasparato was officially announced as the newest Army defensive assistant coach, with his specific position duty to be announced at a later date. Gasparato previously spent the 2018-2019 seasons as the safeties coach for Appalachian State and the 2015-2017 seasons as the inside linebackers coach at Wofford.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
On January 20, the West Point Athletic Department announced the retirement of quarterbacks (QB) coach Mitch Ware following a 35-year career, the past six of which were spent with the Black Knights. On the same day, Cody Worley was announced as the new QB coach for Army. Worley came to the Black Knights following six years (five seasons, 2015-2019) as the QB and B-backs coach for Kennesaw State during that program's creation and very rapid success at the FCS-level.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
On January 24, two new assistant coaches were announced by head coach Jeff Monken: Shiel Wood as a defensive assistant and Saga Tuitele as the offensive line (OL) coach. Wood joined the staff after spending the 2019 season as the inside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for Georgia State. Prior to that, he spent the 2018 season with Woody at Georgia Tech as the safeties coach and the previous eight seasons at Wofford in various capacities including a year as DC.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
Tuitele joined the Black Knights staff after spending the previous four seasons as the OL coach and run game coordinator for New Mexico. Prior to that he spent seven seasons with Cal Poly as the OL coach and offensive coordinator and the 2007 and 2008 seasons as the OL coach at Army.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
On January 28, it was announced that offensive analyst Matt Drinkall would be promoted to tight ends (TE) coach, replacing Sean Saturnio who would be shifted back to special teams coordinator to cover for Mike Krysl's leaving to join Arkansas. With these announcements, all of the core assistant coach positions on staff were covered, with the only exception being the specific position group announcements for coaches Gasparato, Loose, and Wood.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
On February 11, the team roster was updated to show the position responsibilities for the new defensive hires as well as some responsibility shifts. John Loose, formerly the DC, was put in charge of the outside linebackers (OLB). Greg Gasparato, one of the new hires, was put in charge of the safeties (S). Shiel Wood, another new hire, was put in charge of the inside linebackers (ILB). Finally, Josh Christian-Young, the previous year's safeties coach, was put in charge of the nickelbacks.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
On March 19, it was announced that former Army assistant coach and player Mike Sullivan was hired as the new Director of Recruiting. He spent a 17-year career as a coach in the NFL, serving as an offensive coordinator (New York Giants '16-'17, Tampa Bay Buccaneers '12-'13), assistant coach, and quality control analyst. Before that he served two stints as an assistant coach at Army, coaching the linebackers from 1995-1996 and the defensive backs from 1999-2000. He graduated from West Point in 1989 and played defensive back while at the academy.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
On April 1, it was announced that Tenarius "Tank" Wright was hired as the new defensive line coach, coming to the Black Knights after spending two seasons as the Associate Director of Football Strength and Conditioning at Michigan. A 2012 graduate of Arkansas, where he played from 2008-2012, he was hired following the opening of an assistant coach position due to the departure of nickelbacks coach Josh Christian-Young to Tulane on March 3.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
There were several other departures from the support staff during the first half of the year: Defensive Quality Control Analyst Rick Lyster left to serve as the outside linebackers coach at Fordham; Assistant Director of Recruiting Operations Devon Doyle was hired by Coastal Carolina to serve as their Director of Recruiting; and Jim Collins (Director of Player Personnel), Lawrence Scott (Director of Player Development), and Brett Moore (Director of On-Campus Recruiting) all stepped down from their positions.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Coaching changes
To replace these departures, several support staff were hired: John French was hired as the new Offensive Quality Control Analyst; Al Ades was hired as the new Defensive Quality Control Analyst; Brandon Reyes and Blair Vaughan were hired as new Assistant Strength and Conditioning coaches; Joe Manion was hired as the new Director of Recruiting Operations; Greg Svarczkopf was hired as the new Director of On-Campus Recruiting; Rob De Los Santos was hired as the Director of Content Marketing/Recruiting Assistant; and former player and 2013 graduate Raymond Maples was hired as the new Director of Player Development. Following these hires, Monken's 2020 staff changeover was completed.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Spring session and summer camp
The spring season, normally consisting of 14 practices and the Black and Gold Spring Game, was canceled on March 16 following the collective decision of the Patriot League presidents and superintendents to cancel all spring sports due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Corps of Cadets did not return from spring break and completed the rest of their semester virtually from home, with only the firsties returning in June to attend graduation. In an interview, Coach Monken said the team was able to meet virtually with their assistant coaches to check on their mental well-being as well as go over "X's and O's."


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Preseason, Offseason, Spring session and summer camp
The team returned to West Point in the latter half of June to attend the Summer Term Academic Program, complete required military training, and begin team summer workouts. The 77-strong plebe class (43 from USMAPS) reported for Reception Day from July 12–14. On August 6, padded practices for fall camp began and it was announced that firstie offensive lineman Mike Johnson, firstie fullback Sandon McCoy, and firstie linebacker Amadeo West were selected as the 2020 team captains. Camp broke for the beginning of the fall semester with a pair of intra-squad scrimmages in Michie Stadium on August 15.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Personnel, Roster
The Army football roster for the Week 1 game versus Middle Tennessee (as of August 30, 2020):


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Personnel, Depth chart
The Army football depth chart for the Week 16 game against Air Force (as of December 16, 2020):


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Schedule
Army had games scheduled against Bucknell, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH), Oklahoma, Princeton, UConn, and UMass, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The game with Rice was postponed indefinitely due to the movement of the start of the Rice season to September 26 and was never rescheduled. A replacement schedule consisting of eleven games was announced on August 24, with the twelfth and final game against Cincinnati announced on August 26.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Schedule
The game with BYU, scheduled for September 19 as part of the replacement slate of games, was postponed indefinitely on September 12 with both the academy and BYU pledging to attempt to reschedule the game for a later date.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Schedule
On October 23, it was jointly announced by West Point athletic director Mike Buddie and Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk that the 121st Army-Navy Game would be moved from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to Michie Stadium at West Point due to "attendance limits placed on outdoor events in the state of Pennsylvania that would not allow the entire Corps of Cadets and Brigade of Midshipmen to attend." Because Army was to serve as the designated home team in 2020, Michie Stadium was selected to host.


2020 Army Black Knights football team, Schedule
This will be the first time an Army-Navy Game will be held at a home site since World War II when the 1942 game was held in Annapolis and the 1943 game was held at West Point, both being Navy victories. The Air Force game, originally scheduled for November 7, was postponed indefinitely on November 5 with both schools saying they would reschedule the game if possible. On November 25, it was announced that the Air Force game would be rescheduled for December 19 between the Army–Navy Game and the Independence Bowl. As a result, the postponed BYU game was not rescheduled.


2020 Army Black Knights men's soccer team
The 2020 Army Black Knights men's soccer team represented the United States Military Academy during the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season and the 2020 Patriot League men's soccer season. The regular season began on September 26, 2020 and ended on April 10, 2021. It was the program's 100th season fielding a men's varsity soccer team. The 2020 season was Russell Payne's 11th year as head coach for the program.


2020 Army Black Knights men's soccer team, Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic
On July 13, 2020, the Patriot League announced that fall sports would be postponed, with the possibility of playing them in the spring.


2020 Army Black Knights men's soccer team, Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic
On November 4, 2020, the NCAA approved a plan for college soccer to be played in the spring.


2020 Army Black Knights men's soccer team, Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic
However, Army and Navy were excluded from this and were allowed to play games in the fall.


2020 Army Black Knights men's soccer team, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020 Arnold Palmer Cup
The 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup was a team golf competition held from December 21–23, 2020 at  Bay Hill Club and Lodge, Bay Hill, Florida. It was the 24th time the event had been contested and the third under the new format in which women golfers played in addition to men and an international team, representing the rest of the world, replaced the European team. The international team won the match 40½–19½.


2020 Arnold Palmer Cup
The event was originally planned to be played at Lahinch Golf Club, Lahinch, Ireland from July 3–5 but was moved because of the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Arnold Palmer Cup, Format
The contest was played over three days. On Monday, there were 12 mixed four-ball matches. On Tuesday there were 12 mixed foursomes matches in the morning and 12 fourball matches in the afternoon, six all-women matches and six all-men matches. 24 singles matches were played on Wednesday. In all, 60 matches were played.


2020 Arnold Palmer Cup, Format
Each of the 60 matches was worth one point in the larger team competition. If a match was all square after the 18th hole, each side earned half a point toward their team total. The team that accumulated at least 30½ points won the competition.


2020 Arnold Palmer Cup, Teams
The teams were announced in March 2020, before the postponement of the event. A number of players were unable to compete and were replaced. Four replacements were announced on December 4, 2020 and another on December 15. For the United States, Kaitlin Milligan and Andy Ogletree were in the original teams, while Vivian Hou, Aline Krauter and Hazel MacGarvie were in the International team announced in March 2020. Ogletree had turned professional before the event.


2020 Arnold Palmer Cup, Teams
William Mouw (Pepperdine), a member of the American team, was a late withdrawal and was not replaced. On the first day his partner, Megan Schofill, played the fourball match alone. In the other three sessions, matches involving him were deemed to be tied.


2020 Arnold Palmer Cup, Teams
The head coaches were announced in August 2019 with the assistant coaches selected in September 2019.


2020 Arnold Palmer Cup, Michael Carter award
The Michael Carter Award winners were John Pak and Puwit Anupansuebsai.


2020 Arnold Strongman Classic
The 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic was a strongman contest that took place in Columbus, Ohio, from March 6–7, 2020 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The Arnold Strongman Classic is the finale of the Arnold Strongman Tour and is seen as one of the biggest and most prestigious strongmen events on the circuit.


2020 Arnold Strongman Classic
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's competition was closed to general spectators with the crowd consisting of the athletes' family or team members.


2020 Arnold Strongman Classic
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson won the competition for the third time, becoming only the second man to win the competition three consecutive times after Žydrūnas Savickas (six, 2003–08), with Mateusz Kieliszkowski finishing close behind in second place, despite winning 4 of the 6 events outright.


2020 Arnold Strongman Classic, Qualifying
To qualify for the Arnold Strongman Classic, athletes have to either win a sanctioned event on the Arnold Classic Tour or gain enough points to be invited through a wildcard system. Athletes that qualified and their method for qualification are as follows:


2020 Arnold Strongman Classic, Event Results, Event 6: Strategic Cyr Dumbbell Challenge
^ Mateusz Kieliszkowski's lift of 145 kilograms (320 lb) is a new record for single Cyr dumbbell press.


2020 Artsakhian general election
General elections were held in the Republic of Artsakh on 31 March 2020, with a second round of the presidential election on 14 April. Voters elected the President and 33 members of the National Assembly. It was the first time the President and National Assembly were elected at the same time.


2020 Artsakhian general election
The Free Motherland - UCA Alliance, United Motherland, Justice, ARF, and the Democratic Party won seats in National Assembly. No party won the majority of seats, which means that coalition talks are likely to be held within parties.


2020 Artsakhian general election
Presidential candidate Arayik Harutyunyan came first in the first round of the presidential election. A run-off between him and incumbent Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan was held on 14 April 2020. However, Masis Mayilyan made an announcement urging the people of Artsakh not to participate in the second round of elections in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a result, the majority of Mayilyan's voters from the first round did not vote, and turnout in the second round declined by nearly 30%. However, a majority of Harutyunyan's voters did return to the polls for the second round, in spite of the call to avoid spreading COVID-19, giving him a wide margin of victory in the second round.


2020 Artsakhian general election, Background
Presidential elections were initially scheduled to be held by popular vote in 2017, five years after the 2012 elections. However, after a constitutional referendum in 2017, the country switched from a semi-presidential system to a presidential system. As a result, in the 2017 presidential elections the National Assembly re-elected Bako Sahakyan as president for the next three years until the general election.


2020 Artsakhian general election, Background
The incumbent President Bako Sahakyan declared that he would not run in the elections.


2020 Artsakhian general election, Electoral system
The President of Artsakh is elected using the two-round system. If a candidate takes more than 50% of the overall vote, he or she is declared elected. If the 50% threshold is not met by any candidate, a second round of voting is held. In the second round, only the two most popular candidates from the first round may participate. The winner of the second round is elected President of Artsakh.


2020 Artsakhian general election, Electoral system
Members of the National Assembly will be elected by proportional representation, with between 27 and 33 MPs; the number will be defined by the Electoral Code.


2020 Artsakhian general election, Conduct
140 international observers from 38 countries were registered with the Central Election Commission to monitor the election. At the time of the election, Artsakh's border with Armenia was closed to non-essential travel due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, international observers were granted an exception provided they first test negative for COVID-19.


2020 Artsakhian general election, Conduct
Several members of the United States Congress announced that their office employees and senior advisers would visit Artsakh to observe the elections. Congressman Frank Pallone stated that "We want to highlight that democracy works in Artsakh and is in accordance with all the standards of free society."


2020 Artsakhian general election, Conduct
Prior to the second round of the presidential election, around 200 protesters took to the streets of Stepanakert alleging fraud in the elections held on 31 March. The protestors called for the annulment of the election results, and demanded the unconditional resignation of President Bako Sahakyan, Chief of Police Levon Mnatsakanyan and Secretary of the Security Council Arshavir Gharamyan, as well as fresh elections.


2020 Artsakhian general election, Results, President
Presidential candidate Arayik Harutyunyan came first in the first round of the presidential election. A run-off between him and incumbent Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan was held on 14 April 2020. Masis Mayilyan made an announcement prior to the second round urging the people of Artsakh not to participate in the second round of elections in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a result, the majority of Mayilyan's voters from the first round did not vote, and turnout in the second round declined by nearly 30%. However, a majority of Harutyunyan's voters did return to the polls for the second round, in spite of the call to avoid spreading COVID-19, giving him a wide margin of victory in the second round.


2020 Artsakhian general election, Results, National Assembly
The Free Motherland - UCA Alliance, United Motherland, Justice, ARF, and the Democratic Party won seats in National Assembly. No party won the majority of seats, which means that coalition talks are likely to be held within parties.


2020 Artsakhian general election, International reaction
The European Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States, several governments and embassies of several countries in Turkey or Azerbaijan announced that they did not recognize the election.


2020 Artsakhian general election, International reaction
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan both congratulated the people of Artsakh on the occasion of the elections.


2020 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament
The 2020 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament for boxing at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, were held from 3 to 11 March 2020 at the Prince Hamzah Sport Hall in Amman, Jordan.


2020 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament
The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Wuhan, China from February 3–14, 2020 but was cancelled by local organizers amidst concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, believed to have originated from the city. The qualifiers were moved to Jordan.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier
The 2020 Asia Cup Qualifier was a tournament to determine qualification for the 2020 Asia Cup. The 2020 editions of the ACC Western and Eastern Region T20 tournaments were held in February and March 2020 by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), with thirteen teams competing in total (eight in the Western event and five in the Eastern event) with the aim of progressing to the qualifier. These were scheduled to be followed by the Asia Cup Qualifier tournament in Malaysia, which was due to be played in August 2020. However, in July 2020, the Asia Cup was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the postponement of the Qualifier. In May 2021, the Asian Cricket Council confirmed that there would be no Asia Cup in 2021, with that edition of the tournament deferred until 2023.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, Summary
The Western Region qualifier was held by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Oman in February 2020 and the Eastern region qualifier was held in Thailand from 29 February to 6 March 2020. UAE and Kuwait advanced to the main Asia Cup Qualifier after reaching the final of the Western Region event and they were joined by Singapore and Hong Kong who finished in the top two positions in the Eastern event. These four teams will contest the Asia Cup Qualifier in Malaysia to determine the sixth team to take part in the 2020 Asia Cup (joining the five Asian Full Members of the International Cricket Council).


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, Summary
China were originally scheduled to take part in the Eastern Region Group, but they withdrew in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bhutan and Myanmar, who were also included in the original schedule, later withdrew their participation. On 23 February 2020, Iran played their first ever T20I match, when they faced the United Arab Emirates in Group B of the Western Region qualifier.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, Summary
All matches in the qualification tournaments had Twenty20 International (T20I) status.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, 2020 ACC Western Region T20
The 2020 ACC Western Region T20 tournament was held from 23 to 27 February 2020 in Muscat, Oman, and acted as a first qualifying stage for the 2020 Asia Cup. Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all announced their squads for the tournament. Following the conclusion of the group stage matches of the Western Region, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE had all progressed to the semi-finals.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, 2020 ACC Western Region T20
An incredible six-wicket win for Bahrain over Qatar in the final group match saw them climb to the top of Group A, with both sides progressing to the semi-finals at the expense of favourites Oman by virtue of slightly better net run rates. Kuwait and the UAE won their respective semi-final matches to advance to the final of the Western Region group and to the Asia Cup Qualifier. United Arab Emirates went on to win the final by 102 runs.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20
The 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20 tournament took place from 29 February to 6 March 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand, and acted as a first qualifying stage for the 2020 Asia Cup. It was the first official men's T20I tournament to be played in Thailand. China were initially due to play in the Eastern Region tournament, but were forced to withdraw due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bhutan and Myanmar were also included in the original schedule, but later withdrew. Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal and Singapore all announced their squads for the tournament, with Aizaz Khan, Ahmad Faiz, Gyanendra Malla and Amjad Mahboob as their respective captains.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20
The opening day of the tournament saw the hosts beaten by Singapore, followed by a surprise defeat for the much-fancied Nepal against Malaysia, who came into the event on the back of a 5–0 series whitewash against Hong Kong. Nepal were beaten again on day two, this time by Hong Kong, and Thailand also suffered a second defeat with Malaysia taking a second victory.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20
Singapore thrashed the in-form Malaysians by 128 runs on day three thanks to an unbeaten 92 from just 32 balls for Tim David, and they were joined by Hong Kong on a record of two wins from two matches after their comfortable victory over Thailand. After the penultimate round of matches, Nepal were eliminated despite Sandeep Lamichhane bowling a world record 22 dot ball deliveries in their victory over Thailand, due to Singapore's 16-run win over Hong Kong.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20
The result also secured Singapore's qualification, and meant that the game between Hong Kong and Malaysia on the final day would determine the remaining place in the Asia Cup Qualifier. Singapore won the tournament unbeaten with seven points, after their last fixture against Nepal was abandoned due to rain. Hong Kong's victory over Malaysia in the last match of the tournament secured their qualification. Singapore's Tim David was named player of the tournament, while compatriot Sidhant Singh and Hong Kong's Aftab Hussain won the batting and bowling awards, respectively.


2020 Asia Cup Qualifier, Asia Cup Qualifier
The four-team Asia Cup Qualifier was scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur in August 2020. Kuwait and the UAE reached the final of the Western Region group, and as a result, also advanced to the Asia Cup Qualifier. Singapore and Hong Kong finished as the top two teams in the Eastern Region group, joining Kuwait and the UAE in the Asia Cup Qualifier. However, in July 2020, the 2020 Asia Cup was postponed to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Asia Road Racing Championship
The 2020 Asia Road Racing Championship is the 25th season of the Asia Road Racing Championship. The season is planned to start on 7 March at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia and ending on 29 November at Chang International Circuit in Thailand.


2020 Asian Boys' U18 Volleyball Championship
The 2020 Asian Boys' U18 Volleyball Championship was originally to be the 13th edition of the Asian Boys' U18 Volleyball Championship, a biennial international volleyball tournament organised by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with Islamic Republic of Iran Volleyball Federation (IRIVF). The tournament was scheduled to be held in Shiraz, Iran from 9 to 16 January 2021. It was originally scheduled to take place in Riffa, Bahrain from 7 to 14 July 2020, but was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Asian Boys' U18 Volleyball Championship
On 14 December 2020, AVC announced that the tournament which was originally the AVC qualifier for the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Boys' U19 World Championship was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic and the top four teams of the 2018 Asian Boys' U18 Volleyball Championship which had not yet qualified to the 2021 U19 World Championship qualified for the 2021 U19 World Championship as the AVC representatives.


2020 Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship
The 2020 Asian Club League Handball Championship was 23rd edition of the championship held from 12 to 21 June 2021 at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia under the aegis of Asian Handball Federation (AHF). It was the third time in history that the championship was organised by the Saudi Arabian Handball Federation. It also acted as the qualification tournament for the 2021 IHF Men's Super Globe, with top team from the championship directly qualifying for the event to be held also in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.


2020 Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship
The championship was previously scheduled to take place from 1 to 12 November 2020, but on 9 August 2020, the AHF decided to postpone the championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship
Al-Duhail SC won the final 27–24 against Al-Kuwait SC for their second Asian Club League title.


2020 Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship, Draw
The draw ceremony took place on 2 May 2021 at the King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at 10:30 hrs. (local time).