Türkiye, Azerbaijan discuss Armenian provocations as tensions escalate

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has spoken with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov over the phone.

Discussions between the two focused on Armenian provocations on the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border, Cavusoglu said on Tueday on Twitter.

"Armenia should cease its provocations and focus on peace negotiations and cooperation with Azerbaijan," said Cavusoglu.

Fighting erupted overnight along the volatile border between the Caucasus neighbours, leaving troops dead on both sides, defence ministries in Baku and Yerevan said.

The escalation marked the latest flare up since the end of the 2020 war between Yerevan and Baku over the disputed Karabakh region.

READ MORE: Clashes break out on border after Armenia’s attacks — Azerbaijan

Tense relations

Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry said early on Tuesday the Armenian army carried out extensive provocations in the evening hours on the border in the direction of Dashkesan, Kalbajar and Lachin.

The ministry said sabotage groups of the Armenian army laid mines on land and roads between the positions of the Azerbaijani army in various directions, adding as a result of measures taken by Azerbaijani troops to address the situation, clashes took place.

Last week, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of killing one of its soldiers in a border shootout.

In August, Azerbaijan said it had lost a soldier.

During EU-mediated talks in Brussels in May and April, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed to "advance discussions" on a future peace treaty.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.

In 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia, and the fighting ended with a deal brokered by Russia.
READ MORE: Azerbaijan president: Troops deployed to strategic Karabakh city of Lachin