Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged accusations of violating the humanitarian armistice under the auspices of the United States, which came into effect this morning, Monday, despite the two countries declaring their commitment to the truce, while Russia confirmed that it opposes the military solution in the Karabakh region and called on Turkey to support the ceasefire.

Azerbaijan accused the Armenian forces of violating the agreement and targeting Azeri military units in Sufyan village in Lachin city.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry stated in a statement, on Monday, that the Armenian violation came only 5 minutes after the entry into force of the armistice agreement, at 8 am this morning, the time of the two countries.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense confirmed that its forces are committed to the humanitarian armistice agreement on all fronts.

Hikmat Hajiyev, Vice President of Azerbaijan, held Armenia responsible for violating the ceasefire, declared within the framework of a humanitarian truce, which entered into force on Monday morning.


Hajiyev said in a statement, on Monday, that Armenia opened fire on Azerbaijani forces and residential areas immediately after the declaration of the humanitarian truce.

On the other hand, the Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted a source in the Armenian Foreign Ministry as denying any violation by Armenia of the ceasefire.

The Ministry of Defense in the Nagorno Karabakh region, which is not recognized internationally, said that this is "misleading information," and added that the Azerbaijani forces launched a missile attack on Armenian military sites on the northeastern side of the contact line.

A statement issued by the US State Department said that the Armenian Foreign Minister and his Azerbaijani counterpart met Stephen Begon, the US Deputy Secretary of State, and confirmed their countries ’commitment to implementing the humanitarian ceasefire agreed upon in Moscow on October 10.

And Anadolu Agency reports that Armenia has previously violated the ceasefire agreement by bombing the Azerbaijani city of Ganja with ballistic missiles, and it repeated its violation after its activation on the 17th of the same month.

US President Donald Trump, who recently intensified his election campaign and was late in the polls, had promised to resolve the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Russian call

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed his country's opposition to the military solution in Karabakh.

Lavrov said in an interview with Athens and Macedonia News Agency, "We do not hide that we do not support the possibility of a military solution to this problem. According to our consideration of the Armenian and Azerbaijani people as friends and brothers, we cannot share these aspirations."

Lavrov added that Russia calls on all external players not to allow the escalation of the military scenario, calm the feelings of both sides, and intensify work to create conditions for the resumption of the peace process.


Lavrov also called on Turkey to use all its influence to support the ceasefire agreement and advance the political settlement around Karabakh.

 The demands of Azerbaijan

Earlier, on Sunday, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, announced his rejection of an unconditional ceasefire, stressing the need for the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the lands they occupy in the Karabakh region and its surroundings.

In press statements, Aliyev said that the international mediators to solve the Karabakh crisis were not able or willing to exert the necessary pressure on Armenia, and in the meantime he warned against Russia's military intervention in Karabakh alongside Armenia, stressing the need for non-military intervention by third parties in the war. That erupted a month ago from now.

On the other hand, the President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, said that Russia is a reliable mediator, accusing Azerbaijan and calling on those he described as international players to intervene immediately for the ceasefire.

Nikole Pashinyan, a spokesman for the Armenian Prime Minister, also said that his country has repeatedly confirmed its readiness for peace negotiations and the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that US officials contacted the Azerbaijani president, threatening him to punish Turkey if necessary.

Because of its standing with Azerbaijan, adding that Turkey is not a tribal country, and it will not submit to US threats.

Russia - which has a joint defense agreement with Armenia - had previously offered to deploy military observers on the front lines in Karabakh, and tried twice to establish a truce between the two parties.

But her endeavors were unsuccessful.