Armenia and Azerbaijan exchange fire across border despite negotiations

Armenia và Azerbaijan lại đấu súng xuyên biên giới dù đang đàm phán - Ảnh 1. — A member of the Russian peacekeeping force stands next to a tank in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in November 2020.

The clash comes as the two rival countries in the South Caucasus region have stepped up negotiations and diplomatic efforts to prevent tensions from turning into full-blown conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The enclave is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory but is predominantly ethnically Armenian, and has long been at the centre of a decades-long dispute between the two countries.

Baku last month set up a checkpoint at the beginning of the Lachin Corridor, the only land route connecting Armenia to the Karabakh region that lies entirely within Azerbaijan’s borders. Yerevan said the move was a “blatant violation” of a ceasefire agreement the two countries signed in 2020 with Russia as a mediator.

In the clash on May 11, the latest in a series of border shootings, both sides said they acted in self-defense and accused the other side of opening fire first, according to Reuters.

Azerbaijan said Armenian forces staged a “deliberate provocation” and killed one Azerbaijani soldier. Meanwhile, Armenia’s defense ministry said four of its soldiers were wounded after Azerbaijan shelled their positions near the village of Sotk on the two countries’ shared border.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the incident was an attempt by Azerbaijan to sabotage ongoing peace talks.

The foreign ministers of both countries met in Washington DC for four days in early May but failed to make any breakthrough. Mr Pashinyan is set to meet Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels on May 14 for EU-brokered talks aimed at easing tensions.

The latest clashes are also seen as a test of Russia's ability to influence the situation in the South Caucasus.

Russia is a formal ally of Armenia through a mutual defense pact, but has also sought to maintain friendly relations with Azerbaijan. Moscow argues that a 2020 deal it brokered to end a six-week conflict that killed thousands in Karabakh is the only basis for a lasting solution.

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