9/1/23, 7:53 PM Armenia, Azerbaijan report border clash casualties as Yerevan spars with Moscow - Times of India

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Armenia, Azerbaijan report border clash casualties

as Yerevan spars with Moscow
Reuters | Sep 1, 2023, 07.45 PM IST

TBILISI: Armenia and Azerbaijan said on Friday that they had

sustained casualties in fighting around their common border,
northwest of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia's Defence Ministry said four of its servicemen had been
killed and another wounded in shelling near the border villages of
Sotk and Norabak. Azerbaijan said Armenia had struck its
positions across the border in the Kalbajar region using drones,
wounding three servicemen.

The incident came a day after Armenia accused treaty ally Russia
of "absolute indifference" towards attacks on its territory.
Armenia accused Azerbaijan of massing forces close to the border,
and striking its positions using drones, mortars and small arms
fire. Azerbaijan denied gathering forces, but said it was taking "retaliatory measures".

Reuters was unable to verify the reports.

Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but inhabited primarily by ethnic Armenians,
has been a source of conflict between the two Caucasus neighbours since before the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991, and between ethnic Armenians and Turkic Azeris for well over a century.

Despite sporadic discussions on a peace deal to agree on borders, settle differences over the enclave and
unfreeze relations, tensions remain high and skirmishes along the shared border are a regular occurrence. Two
days of clashes in September last year saw around 300 servicemen killed on both sides.
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9/1/23, 7:53 PM Armenia, Azerbaijan report border clash casualties as Yerevan spars with Moscow - Times of India

Continued fighting, along with a months-long blockade of Karabakh by Azerbaijan, have strained once warm
relations between Armenia and Russia, which is Yerevan's traditional ally, and which has a peacekeeping
contingent in Karabakh.

In a statement on Thursday, Armenia's Foreign Ministry accused Russia of "absolute indifference to the
aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia", and of using a "false excuse" to avoid
supporting Armenia.

In recent months, Russia has publicly backed Azerbaijan's claim to Nagorno-Karabakh, and blamed Armenia for
the ongoing blockade of separatist-held Karabakh.

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