Armenia, Azerbaijan trade blame for shootout before US talks

The incident comes hours earlier than a gathering in Washington of the Armenian and Azerbaijani prime diplomats.

Soldiers walk in a trench at a border check point between Armenia and Azerbaijan near the village of Sotk, Armenia
Troopers stroll in a trench at a border verify level between Armenia and Azerbaijan close to the village of Sotk, Armenia [File: Karen Minasyan/AFP]

Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused one another of scary a shootout alongside their troubled border earlier than the arch-foes have been to carry US-mediated peace talks.

The incident got here on Monday, hours earlier than a gathering in Washington of Armenian International Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov for one more spherical of peace talks hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

With Moscow more and more remoted on the world stage following its February invasion of Ukraine, the USA and the European Union have taken a number one function in mediating the Armenia-Azerbaijan talks.

The escalation on the border got here every week after Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for talks, as Moscow seeks to take care of its function as a powerbroker between the ex-Soviet republics.

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Within the early hours of Monday, Azerbaijani forces opened hearth on Armenian positions “within the japanese sector of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border”, the defence ministry in Yerevan mentioned in an announcement.

The assertion mentioned there have been “no casualties, and the scenario on the frontline was comparatively secure” on Monday morning.

Azerbaijan’s defence ministry for its half accused Armenian forces of taking pictures on the positions of Azerbaijani troops stationed at a number of areas on the frontier.

Russian response

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday known as on each events to “chorus from the actions and steps that would result in an escalation of tensions”.

Yerevan and Baku fought two wars over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh – within the autumn of 2020 and within the Nineteen Nineties.

Six weeks of combating in 2020 killed greater than 6,500 folks earlier than a Russian-brokered truce ended the hostilities.

Below the 2020 deal, Armenia ceded swaths of territory it had managed for many years and Russia stationed peacekeepers to supervise the delicate ceasefire.

There have been frequent exchanges of fireplace on the Caucasus neighbours’ border for the reason that 2020 conflict.

In September, greater than 280 folks from either side have been killed in new clashes.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan. The following battle killed about 30,000 folks.

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