Russia accuses Azerbaijan of breaking ceasefire in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region

Moscow: Russia on Wednesday accused Azerbaijan of breaking a ceasefire in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, reported AFP. The clashes led to the death of three soldiers. According to Baku, "illegal Armenian armed groups" clashed with its soldiers.

Notably, Russia brokered the ceasefire agreement after over 6,500 people lost their lives in the six weeks of fighting over the region in the autumn of 2020. Russia vowed to take measures to stabilise the situation with Azerbaijani and Armenian representatives.

Azerbaijan blamed Armenia for the clashes. According to Azerbaijan's defence ministry, Karabakh troops killed one of its soldiers in an attack in the Lachin district. Later, the Azerbaijani army claimed that in a retaliatory operation, it had captured several strategic heights in the region.

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However, The army of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic accused Azerbaijan of violating the ceasefire killing its two soldiers and wounding 14 others. The European Union called for an "immediate cessation of hostilities" between the armies of the two countries. "It is essential to de-escalate, fully respect the ceasefire and return to the negotiating table to seek negotiated solutions," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's spokesman as quoted by AFP.

Notably, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two wars over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and in the 1990s. In 2020, Armenia ceded swathes of the territory it had controlled for years. To oversee the truce, Russia deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers. Earlier this month, Armenia agreed to withdraw all troops from the contested region.