Russia said Monday its peacekeepers halted a weekend clash in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region between Yerevan and Baku, urging all parties to show restraint.
"Through the efforts of Russian peacekeepers, the clash was stopped," the Russian Defense Ministry added in a statement by Russian news agencies.
On Sunday, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said a shootout occurred when Azerbaijani soldiers went to check vehicles suspected of transporting weapons along an auxiliary road that links Armenia with Karabakh. Armenia’s Interior Ministry dismissed the claim and described the shooting as an "ambush," saying three Armenian police officers from Karabakh were killed.
On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its troops patrolling the region as peacekeepers under the 2020 Moscow-brokered deal moved quickly to halt the clash. The ministry confirmed that three Armenian police officers were killed, and two Azerbaijani troops died in the shootout.
The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern about Sunday’s shooting and urged all parties to restrain and take steps to de-escalate the situation.
Conversely, Azerbaijan said the statement by Russia on the skirmish with Armenian forces "distorted the facts" and "spread false information" on the events.
"On March 5, based on operative information, an attempt was made by units of the Azerbaijan Army to stop and check the vehicle of the Armenian military units carrying out illegal military transports from Armenia. However, while approaching the vehicle, our servicemen were fired with automatic weapons by the members of the Armenian armed group inside the vehicle. As a result, two servicemen were killed, and one was injured," a statement by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said late Monday.
Noting that the Armenian military units were "fully equipped with weapons and ammunition," the statement said the Russian Defense Ministry’s presentation of the units as "police officers performing 'passport and visa’ services'" is "nothing but hypocrisy."
"The information spread about the provision of first aid and evacuation by representatives of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to our servicemen injured due to the incident does not reflect the truth. Our military personnel evacuated our martyrs and wounded soldiers from the area," the statement further said.
The statement also noted that Yerevan continues to deliver military supplies to armed Armenian groups in the Karabakh region despite provisions under the cease-fire agreement between Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia, adding that the Russian peacekeeping contingent temporarily stationed in the area should "fulfill its duties" to "immediately prevent such unacceptable situations."
The transportation of military supplies to Karabakh by Armenia and the sending and rotation of personnel from the Armenian Armed Forces to the region should be "immediately and once and for all stopped," it added, noting that Armenian troops should also completely withdraw from Azerbaijani territory.
"Otherwise, the Azerbaijani side will be forced to take necessary measures to disarm and neutralize illegal armed forces using all possibilities. Such acts of Armenia are considered as the continuation of military aggression," the statement reiterated Baku’s calls to establish a security checkpoint on the Lachin road, which connects Armenia to Karabakh.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian have met several times as part of efforts to resolve the conflict, but sporadic violence has hurt peace efforts.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian Army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements. During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that Armenia had occupied for almost 30 years.
The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia. However, the cease-fire has been violated several times since then.
Normalization efforts
Meanwhile, the normalization of ties between Azerbaijan and Armenia was in focus as President Ilham Aliyev met with officials from the United States and European Union in the capital Baku.
Aliyev met with U.S. Senior Adviser for Caucasus Negotiations Louis Bono on Monday and discussed normalizing relations with Armenia.
"The head of state expressed his satisfaction with the results of the meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia within the framework of the Munich Security Conference and expressed his gratitude to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for his continuous efforts in this direction," a statement by the Azerbaijani Presidency said, following the meeting.
According to the statement, Bono conveyed Blinken’s greeting to Aliyev and said that Blinken believes that the Munich Security Conference meeting was successful.
It said that Aliyev and Bono exchanged views on normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the negotiation process for the peace treaty between the two countries.
Later, Aliyev also met with EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, and discussed the normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan and the negotiation process on the peace treaty between the two countries.