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The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence has denied allegations that it fired cross-border shots at Armenian positions.
Armenia stated that one of the soldiers was killed in a border gun battle with Azerbaijani forces. Tensions remained high after the war against the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region last September.
The Armenian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that the gun battle took place on its eastern border with Azerbaijan.
It later stated that the situation was “calm” after a skirmish at the Verin Shorzha border point in the Gegharkunik region of eastern Armenia.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement: “A soldier was killed in a gun battle after the Azerbaijani army opened fire.”
Late on Tuesday, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied Armenia’s allegations that it fired at Armenian positions crossing the border with arson.
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: “According to our information, the incident involving the death of an Armenian soldier was an accident and has nothing to do with Azerbaijan.”
A long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict broke out into a full-scale war in late September, and about 6,000 people were killed in the six-week battle.
After the Azerbaijani army drove the Armenians out of the territory they had controlled in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region since the 1990s, Russia helped ensure a ceasefire in November.
Russia has a military base in Armenia and last year sent peacekeepers to the area to help implement the ceasefire.
It has strong ties and mutual defense treaties with Armenia, but it is also very friendly with Azerbaijan.
The ceasefire was basically maintained under the supervision of approximately 2,000 Russian peacekeepers, but tensions continued and several border incidents occurred.
Earlier this month, Armenia accused the Azerbaijani military of “infiltrating” across the southern border and “siege” a lake shared by the two countries.
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