Clashes flared up along the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Saturday night, with both sides reporting gunfire amid Western efforts to bring peace to the South Caucasus, POLITICO reported.
In a Saturday statement, the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported clashes “in many parts of the border” along with “the movement of dozens of military vehicles,” alleging that the neighbouring country “has clearly pursued a provocatie goal.”
Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry, for its part, said that Armenian troops had opened fire on its positions more than 30 times since Friday. Baku also reacted to recent accusations by EU countries that it may be preparing for a new offensive against Armenia, saying they are “baseless” and “create a tension in the region and obstruct the peace process.”
Azerbaijan said Armenia was building up military equipment along the border, publishing footage purportedly showing unarmoured vehicles lined up near the border, but Armenia denied Azerbaijan’s accusations.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday, with the EU pledging more than a quarter of a billion euros to support Armenia’s economy amid growing regional tensions and strains relations with its traditional ally Russia.
Amid growing anger at the Kremlin for failing to support Armenia in its confrontation with Azerbaijan, the Armenian government has effectively frozen its membership of Moscow’s military alliance, sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and even hinted that it may one day apply to join the EU.
“The European Union and the United States acknowledged the substantial progress Armenia has made since 2018 on democratic and justice reforms and the fight against corruption, and expressed a commitment to continue partnering with and supporting Armenia as it further strengthens its democracy and the rule of law, in line with our shared values and principles,” a joint statement from Blinken and von der Leyen said.
Last weekend Azerbaijan marked the “Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis,” commemorating the more than 100,000 Azerbaijanis who lived in Armenia before the collapse of the Soviet Union and were expelled, with many more killed in violence in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ahead of the talks, Blinken told Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a call “that there is no justification for increased tension on the border and cautioned that aggressive actions and rhetoric from any side would undermine prospects for peace.”
