Azerbaijan says Armenia fired at military positions

ANKARA

Azerbaijani army positions have been subjected to fire by Armenian forces, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

Starting from Wednesday evening, the Armenian armed forces units in the Yukhari Shorzha settlement of the Basarkechar region opened fired periodically at the Azerbaijan army positions in the Zeylik settlement of the Kalbajar region, the ministry said.

Azerbaijani units fired in retaliation, the statement added, noting that for now the situation is stable.

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, and seven adjacent regions.

New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020 with the Armenian army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.

Prior to that, about 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory was under illegal occupation.

The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020 which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.

Two months later, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It also included the establishment of a trilateral working group on Karabakh.