Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of escalating ceasefire violations along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border overnight, following Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s discussions with top U.S. and European Union officials.
According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, Azerbaijani forces initiated gunfire at multiple sections of the border, along with an observed “active movement” of Azerbaijani military vehicles in one area.
The Ministry noted that the majority of Azerbaijani armed forces’ gunfire during the night was non-targeted and sporadic, possibly aiming to provoke a response from the Armenian side. However, Armenian troops refrained from actions that could escalate the situation further, avoiding what they termed as potential “countermeasures” that might be exploited to substantiate recent Azerbaijani claims of Armenian truce violations.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry condemned Azerbaijan’s actions as provocative, emphasizing Armenia’s disinterest in further regional escalation.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported that its border troops faced cross-border Armenian fire on Friday night, without specifying exact locations.
Earlier in the week, both sides had accused each other of breaching the ceasefire regime, following Azerbaijani claims of Armenian troop build-up along the border, allegedly for potential “military provocations.” The Armenian military and an EU monitoring mission stationed on the Armenian side of the frontier denied these claims.
Tensions along the border have heightened after Baku criticized U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for arranging a trilateral meeting with Pashinyan in Brussels. Azerbaijan accused the Western powers of favoring Armenia. Blinken and von der Leyen had previously communicated with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, with the latter expressing concerns that the talks were against Azerbaijan’s interests.
