'Armenia violated Karabakh cease-fire 258 times since 2021'
Vehicles of Russian peacekeepers leaving Azerbaijan's Karabakh region for Armenia pass an Armenian checkpoint on a road near the village of Kornidzor, Armenia Sept. 22, 2023. (Reuters Photo)


Armenia violated the cease-fire 258 times since January 2021, according to the Turkish-Russian Joint Observation center.

Established to monitor and observe the cease-fire in Karabakh, the Turkish-Russian Joint Observation Center has continued its activities since Jan. 30, 2021.

The center has been operating with the regulation signed between Türkiye and Russia after the second Karabakh War, which resulted in the victory of Azerbaijan.

The center, which is working to establish peace and stability in the region, identifies violations using its own reconnaissance and surveillance equipment, including drones, and monitors violation reports from both sides.

Violations detected by the Azerbaijan-Turkish Joint Center Command are also reported.

On Tuesday, two people were killed when a truck belonging to an Azerbaijani government institution hit a mine on the Ahmadbayli-Fuzuli-Shusha highway in the Jabrayil region. Four police officers who responded to the scene were also killed when another mine struck their vehicle.

Later, Azerbaijan said it had launched "counter-terrorism" measures in Karabakh to uphold provisions outlined in a trilateral peace agreement with Russia and Armenia to end the 2020 conflict.

On Wednesday morning, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said under the agreement achieved with the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent it decided to halt the counter-terrorism activities.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.