Amid Armenian ‘provocations’, Azerbaijan's president meets with armed forces commanders

ANKARA

Amid border provocations by Armenia, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday held an operational meeting with armed forces commanders.

The meeting covered "the provocations committed by Armenia on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border," Azerbaijan's presidency said in a statement.

"Relevant reports were presented at the meeting," it said. "It was stated that the provocations perpetrated by the Armenian armed forces on the border of the two states were prevented, and all relevant duties and tasks were fulfilled."

The meeting underlined that the responsibility for the current tension "rests squarely with the political leadership of Armenia."

Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of "large-scale provocations" in recent days, saying saboteurs planted mines and Armenian forces carried out “intensive” firing on Azerbaijani positions.

These actions by Armenian forces led to the confrontation, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said, adding that there were casualties on both sides, including 50 Azerbaijani soldiers.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

In 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia, and the fighting ended with a deal brokered by Russia.