Armenia, on Friday (May 12), said Azerbaijani troops killed one Armenian soldier in border clashes. This comes a day after Azerbaijan said one of its soldiers was killed as new clashes have erupted between the two countries along the border for a second straight day. These clashes have threatened to derail the European Union-led peace talks which are scheduled to take place over the weekend.
According to reports, troops from Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged fire with weapons including mortars and drones on their joint border, on Friday, after the clashes a day prior which were the latest in a series of border flare-ups. Both sides said they were acting in self-defence and blamed the other for shooting first.
Addressing the latest skirmish, Armenia’s Defence Ministry said that its forces came under fire with mortars and small arms near the village of Sotk, near the border. It added drones were also deployed. “In the wake of enemy fire, the Armenian side has one killed in action and one wounded,” said the ministry, adding that “the intensity of fighting has decreased”.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said, “Armenian armed forces opened fire from trench mortars on Azerbaijani positions” at the border. It also reported that it managed to cut short a drone attack by Armenia on its positions in the Kalbajar district.
Peace talks in Brussels
These clashes come ahead of a meeting set to take place in Brussels, on Sunday, between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev which will be led by European Council President Charles Michel.
According to the EU, rival leaders have also agreed to jointly meet the leaders of France and Germany on the sidelines of a European summit in Moldova in June. The EU-led effort follows Washington’s as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had invited Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers to the United States for talks, earlier this month.
The tensions between the two former Soviet states have escalated after Azerbaijan, last month, set up a checkpoint on the only land route between Armenia and the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.
The move has since sparked outrage from its arch-rival Yerevan which has called it a “gross violation” of the 2020 ceasefire agreement. Azerbaijan said that it set up the checkpoint in the disputed region after claims of border shootings by both Azeri and Armenian forces.
The two countries have fought two wars in the last three decades or so over the disputed territory which is recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by ethnic Armenians. The conflict in 2020 ended after a Russia-brokered ceasefire. As a part of that agreement, Azerbaijan is required to guarantee safe passage on the Lachin corridor which is also patrolled by Moscow’s peacekeepers.
(With inputs from agencies)
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