49 Armenian soldiers killed in border clashes with Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev meets with the military leadership in Baku yesterday.

AFP

At least 49 Armenian soldiers were killed yesterday, in the bloodiest border confrontations with Azerbaijan since the war between the two countries in the Caucasus in 2020, Yerevan announced, which denounced Baku's "aggression", while Azerbaijan announced that it "achieved all its goals" on the border with Armenia following The confrontations, while Russia said that its efforts culminated in a truce between the two countries.

"So far, we have 49 (soldiers) killed, unfortunately this is not the final number," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a speech to parliament in Yerevan.

Later, the Armenian Ministry of Defense announced that the intensity of the clashes yesterday, on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, "regressed to a large extent", but the situation "remains very tense" despite the ceasefire negotiated by Moscow.

The ministry said in a statement that the situation at noon "was still very tense at some border points, despite the decrease in the intensity of the bombing to a large extent, as the enemy continues to try to advance."

The outbreak of violence comes as Russia, the region's traditional arbiter, is preoccupied with its military offensive in Ukraine.

Armenia and Azerbaijan, rival former Soviet republics in the Caucasus, have fought two wars in the past three decades over control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The last war between the two countries broke out in 2020.

The new fighting that erupted the night before last reflects the volatile situation, while also threatening to derail the European-brokered peace process.

Azerbaijan admitted that there had been "losses", without giving a specific number.

For his part, Pashinyan denounced Baku's "aggression" and called on the international community to respond, during talks he held with several foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"With this escalation, Azerbaijan is undermining the peace process" underway between Yerevan and Baku mediated by the European Union, he told the Armenian parliament.

He added that the intensity of the fighting "reduced" in the morning, after it broke out shortly after midnight on Tuesday.

On the other hand, Azerbaijan announced yesterday that it "achieved all its goals" on the border with Armenia after the confrontations.

"The provocations by the Armenian forces on the border between the two countries have been repelled, all goals have been achieved," the office of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a statement, noting that "the responsibility for the escalation lies entirely with the Armenian political leaders."

Russia announced that it had negotiated a ceasefire that is supposed to be implemented since yesterday morning, to put an end to the bloody clashes that erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"We expect that the agreement reached, after Russian mediation, for a ceasefire starting at nine o'clock in Moscow time will be respected," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, expressing its "grave concern about the sharp deterioration of the situation."

The Chairman of the International Committee of the Russian Federation Council, Grigory Karasin, announced yesterday that Azerbaijan and Armenia have reached a truce, thanks to Russia's efforts.

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