Armenia on Monday called on Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh to take "concrete steps" to make Azerbaijan withdraw troops from a part of the region policed by Russia in a new sign of increasing tensions between the two neighbors.
In a new flare-up of tensions in the region amid Russia's military offensive in Ukraine, Azerbaijani troops on Thursday said their forces prevented a sabotage attempt by illegal Armenian armed elements in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the country.
Armenia's Foreign Ministry in a statement on Monday demanded an "investigation into the Russian peacekeeping contingent's actions during the Azerbaijani incursion.”
"We expect Russia's peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh to take concrete steps to put an end to Azerbaijani units' incursion into the zone of responsibility of peacekeepers," the statement said.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Saturday that illegal Armenian forces in the region, which was liberated in the fall of 2020 from decades of Armenian occupation, took advantage of hazy weather to provoke the Azerbaijani army. It added that the Armenian forces had to retreat when "immediate measures" were taken, not specifying what form of provocation took place.
Azerbaijan said on Sunday that it had not withdrawn its forces and said the area was its sovereign territory.
The area is under the responsibility of Russian peacekeepers, who are deployed in Karabakh under a Moscow-brokered cease-fire that ended weeks of fighting over the region by Armenia and Azerbaijan in late 2020.
A major flare-up in Karabakh could pose a challenge for Russia with its forces deeply engaged in Ukraine.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-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 and violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that had been occupied by Armenia 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.
In January 2021, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It also included the establishment of a trilateral working group in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Despite the cease-fire agreement, Armenian forces periodically fire on positions of the Azerbaijani army, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.
Moscow deployed almost 2,000 peacekeepers to the region after the cease-fire, reaffirming its role as a police official and chief power broker in a volatile part of the former Soviet Union where Turkey also has strong influence due to its close alliance with Azerbaijan.
