YEREVAN — Armenia and Azerbaijan on Tuesday reached a Russia-brokered
ceasefire, ending hostilities that erupted earlier in the day along their
border, the defense ministry in Yerevan said.
اضافة اعلان
The clashes that Armenia said left one of its soldiers dead and a dozen
others captured sparked fears of another flare-up a year after the Caucasus
arch-foes fought a war over the disputed mountainous region of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The six-week conflict, which left more than 6,500 dead, ended a year ago in
November in a Russia-brokered deal that saw Armenia cede swaths of territory it
had controlled for decades.
"Under the mediation of the Russian side, an
agreement was reached to cease fire at Armenia's eastern border from 18:30
(1430 GMT). The situation has relatively stabilized," the Armenian defense
ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The ministry said at least one of its soldier died in the clashes and that
Armenia had "lost control of two military positions."
It also reported that 12 Armenian servicemen were captured by the
Azerbaijani military.
The two sides accused each other of initiating fighting along their shared
border.
"Armenian troops attacked Azerbaijani positions in the districts of
Kelbajar and Lachin," Azerbaijan's defense ministry said in a statement,
adding that two Azerbaijani troops were wounded.
The ministry said Azerbaijani troops "stopped the enemy's advance,
surrounded and detained Armenian servicemen."
Armenia's defense ministry said Azerbaijani forces tried to "break
through" the border before being repelled.
In a security council meeting, Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of "an
aggression on Armenia's sovereign territory."
"Azerbaijan and the forces that support it are targeting Armenia's
statehood, sovereignty, and independence," he said, alluding to Turkey,
which has backed Baku during the Karabakh war.
Appeals to Moscow
Armenia appealed to ally Russia for military support under the Collective
Security Treaty Organization pact, which obliges Moscow to protect it in the
event of a foreign invasion.
"Given that there was an attack on Armenia's sovereign territory, we
appeal to the Russian Federation to protect Armenia's territorial
integrity," said Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan.
President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation with Pashinyan by phone —
the Kremlin said in a statement — and agreed to "continue contacts"
on the matter.
Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held phone conversations with
counterparts in Baku and Yerevan and pledged Moscow's help in easing tensions,
the Interfax news agency reported.
Before the ceasefire was announced, the EU and the UN called on both sides
to cease hostilities.
European Council President Charles Michel on Twitter called for a "full
ceasefire", while the UN urged Baku and Yerevan to "exercise
restraint".
The French foreign ministry in a statement expressed its "deep
concern" and called on all parties to respect the agreements that were
reached in November 2020.
Since last year's war, both Armenia and Azerbaijan have reported occasional
exchanges of fire.
On Sunday, they traded accusations of opening fire at their border near
Karabakh.
The day before, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said the only road connecting
Armenia to the separatist territory — the Lachin Corridor — was briefly closed
due to an incident between the two sides.
Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan
as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and the ensuing conflict claimed around
30,000 lives.
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