Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions latest updates

The United States says it is concerned that Russia could try to “stir the pot” between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“Whether Russia tries in some fashion to stir the pot, to create a distraction from Ukraine, is something we’re always concerned about,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at an event in Indiana, adding that Russia could also use its influence in the region to help “calm the waters”.

Washington called earlier on Tuesday for an immediate end to “any military hostilities” between Armenia and Azerbaijan, adding it is “deeply concerned” by the reports of deadly border clashes between the pair.

The office of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that the country’s forces “prevented” what it described as “provocations” by Armenian forces along their shared border.

In a statement issued after Aliyev met with the leadership of his country’s armed forces, the office said the “responsibility of the current tension rests squarely with the political leadership of Armenia”.

“Relevant reports were presented at the meeting. It was stated that the provocations committed by the Armenian armed forces on the border of the two states were prevented, and all relevant duties and tasks were fulfilled,” it added.

“The Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan controls the operational situation along the border.”

Vahe Gevorgyan, Armenia’s deputy foreign minister, has accused Azerbaijan of having carried out a “large-scale military offensive initiated on the border of Armenia but also inside of the territory of Armenia”.

“Armenian military installations and also civilian infrastructure were targeted by Azerbaijan,” Gevorgyan told Al Jazeera from the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

“Armenia has always been interested in building security across the border with Azerbaijan and on a number of occasions Armenia has proposed working together to de-escalate the situation there and undertake security and confidence-building measures,” he added.

“But what Azerbaijan is doing is exactly the opposite.”

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“It is imperative that the hostilities stop and that there is a return to the negotiating table. All forces should return to positions held prior to this escalation and the ceasefire should be fully respected,” Josep Borrell said in a statement.

He added that a special EU envoy was being rushed to the region “to support the necessary de-escalation and to discuss next steps in the Brussels dialogue process between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders”.

Last night’s armed confrontations between #Armenia and #Azerbaijan is a dangerous escalation that needs to stop. We urge immediate cessation of hostilities and return to the negotiation table. #EU is in touch with both sides to contribute to de-escalation.

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 13, 2022

Armenia’s defence ministry has accused Azerbaijan of having used “artillery, mortars, drones and large-calibre rifles” to launch cross-border attacks on positions in and around several towns and villages, including Vardenis, Sotk, Artanish, Ishkhanasar, Goris, Jermuk and Kapan.

The ministry claimed the attacks had targeted both military and civilian infrastructure.

Azerbaijan, for its part, said that its troops had returned fire in response to “large-scale provocations” by the Armenian military.

It claimed that the Armenian troops had repeatedly fired on Azerbaijani military positions in the Dashkasan, Kalbajar and Lachin regions after planting mines and building up stocks of weapons along the border.

Click here to read Al Jazeera’s explainer on the worst fighting seen since Armenia and Azerbaijan were embroiled in a 2020 war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is making “every effort” to de-escalate tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Kremlin has said.

“It is difficult to overestimate the role of the Russian Federation, the role of Putin personally,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“The president is naturally is making every effort to help de-escalate tensions at the border,” he added.

Moscow is the main powerbroker in the Caucasus and an ally of Armenia through the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which convened on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

Armenia’s government says Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has discussed the escalation in tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border with the president of the European Council.

Charles Michel said during the pair’s talks by phone that the EU was “ready to make efforts to prevent further escalation”, adding there was “no alternative to peace and stability in the region,” according to the Armenian readout of the call.

Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over Nagorno-Karabakh in late 2020.

Back then, Al Jazeera’s Sandra Gathmann explained why the disputed region had been contested for decades.

Watch this Start Here episode from our archives.

Elnur Mammadov, Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister, has accused Armenian forces of having shelled “Azerbaijani military positions for a few weeks now”.

“This has been intensified over the last few days … [and] Armenia has also started amassing heavy weaponry and armament along the deemed border,” Mammadov told Al Jazeera from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.

“What happened overnight was a large-scale provocation by the Armenian military against Azerbaijani positions as well as the shelling of … civilian infrastructure,” he added.

Mammadov said there had been casualties among Azerbaijani’s armed forces amid the fighting, but did not provide a specific figure for the number of losses sustained.

According to the Armenian defence ministry, hostilities erupted minutes after midnight (20:00 GMT) on Tuesday, with Azerbaijani forces unleashing an artillery barrage and drone attacks in many sections of Armenian territory.

The ministry said Azerbaijan’s troops had fired in the direction of Goris, Sotk, and Jermuk, among other places.

Azerbaijan, for its part, charged that its forces had returned fire in response to “large-scale provocations” by the Armenian military, claiming that the Armenian troops had repeatedly fired on Azerbaijani military positions in the Dashkasan, Kalbajar and Lachin regions after planting mines and building up stocks of weapons along the border.

Turkey’s foreign minister says he has held talks with his Azeri counterpart over “Armenian provocations” on the border with Azerbaijan and called on Yerevan to focus on peace negotiations.

“Armenia should cease its provocations and focus on peace negotiations and cooperation with Azerbaijan,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter after his discussions with Jeyhun Bayramov. Turkey is a close ally of Azerbaijan.

Baku and Yerevan have blamed each other for the flare-up in hostilities, which comes after Azerbaijan re-established full control over Nagorno-Karabakh in a six-week conflict in 2020.

Discussed Armenian provocations on the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border w/ my brother Foreign Minister @bayramov_jeyhun of Azerbaijan.

Armenia should cease its provocations & focus on peace negotiations and cooperation w/ Azerbaijan.🇹🇷🇦🇿

— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) September 13, 2022

France will raise the topic of clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the UN Security Council, the office of President Emmanuel Macron has said, adding that he continued to urge both sides to stick to a ceasefire.

Along with the US and Russia, France is a co-president of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, which mediates between Baku and Yerevan.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decades-old dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994.

A 2020 conflict, which killed more than 6,500 people in a little over six weeks, saw Azerbaijan successfully win back swathes of territory in and around the enclave.

The war ended after Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, brokered a peace deal in November of that year and deployed almost 2,000 peacekeepers to the region, which remains predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians.

But both sides have since accused each other of regular breaches of the agreement.

Russia has called for Armenia and Azerbaijan to cease hostilities and observe a ceasefire agreement.

In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry said it had brokered a ceasefire at 9am Moscow time (06:00 GMT) on Tuesday and that it expected both sides to fulfil the terms of the agreement.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said earlier on Tuesday in a speech to his country’s parliament that the intensity of fighting had reduced from earlier in the morning, but was still active in some areas. Azeri media reported that the ceasefire had broken down within 15 minutes.

Iran has appealed for Armenia and Azerbaijan to exercise restraint.

Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said the country was calling for the “peaceful resolution of disputes between the two countries, and expresses its concern over the escalation of tensions”.

Iran borders both Armenia and Azerbaijan, including areas that were fought over in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The US has called for an immediate end to “any military hostilities” between Armenia and Azerbaijan, adding it is “deeply concerned” by the reports of deadly border clashes between the pair.

“As we have long made clear, there can be no military solution to the conflict,” the Department of State said in a statement.

The United States is deeply concerned about reports of active hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We urge an end to military hostilities immediately. There is no military solution to the conflict. https://t.co/cGeWXpbzKS

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 13, 2022

Armenia says that at least 49 of its soldiers have been killed in clashes along the border with Azerbaijan after a sharp escalation in hostilities.

In a speech to Armenia’s parliament, the country’s prime minister accused Azerbaijan of having attacked several Armenian towns, including Jermuk, Goris and Kapan.

Pashinyan said the attacks were carried out because Baku did not want to negotiate over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave which lies inside Azerbaijan but is mainly populated by ethnic Armenians.

Azerbaijan said it was attacked by Armenia. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.