Enlarge image
Armenian soldiers (recording from September 2020)
Photo: Vagram Bagdasaryan / imago images / ITAR-TASS
In the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, there was another serious outbreak of violence on the border between the two countries on Tuesday.
Both sides blamed each other.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said Azerbaijan had attacked Armenian positions near the cities of Goris, Sotk and Jermuk with artillery and large-caliber weapons.
Azerbaijan, on the other hand, accused Armenia of "large-scale subversive acts" near the border and shelling of its military positions.
According to the country's defense ministry, Azerbaijani soldiers also died.
After an initial war in the 1990s, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought another war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in autumn 2020.
Under international law, the area, which is inhabited mostly by Armenians, belongs to Azerbaijan, from which it had renounced in 1991.
Azerbaijan had regained territory it had lost in a previous conflict in the war in which at least 6,500 people died.
Azerbaijan is supported by Turkey.
Violence could become a problem for Russia
6,500 people were killed in the six-week fighting before the fighting was ended by a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Armenia had to give up large areas.
In April 2022, both countries declared that they wanted to negotiate a peace treaty mediated by the EU during peace talks after the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to Armenians, a commission should also be set up to deal with issues of security and stability along the border.
The armistice is monitored by Russian troops.
At the beginning of August this year, violence flared up again.
Monitoring the crisis region is becoming an increasing burden for Russia, as tens of thousands of Russian soldiers are already deployed in the war in Ukraine.
jok/AFP