Armenia–Azerbaijan relations

Clashes continued in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region for a third day, during which Azerbaijan said Armenian forces killed three of its troops as it killed 30 Armenian troops after launching an attack on a command center, amid diplomatic efforts to ease the tension. 

Azerbaijan said Armenian forces had killed three of its troops on April 4, as clashes over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh continued for a third day despite international pressure to stop fighting.

The Azeri defense ministry said three servicemen were killed when Armenians shelled their positions using mortars and grenade launchers.

Azerbaijan's defence ministry announced on Sunday it was callig a unilateral ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh as fighting in the disputed region entered its second day.

Azerbaijan took the decision after international calls to end the fighting, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty informs.

Fierce clashes left at least 30 Azerbaijani and Armenian soldiers dead April 2 in the disputed as Russia and the West urged an immediate ceasefire after a major escalation in violence over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for an end to the fierce fighting renewed between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where a conflict is threatening to resurface after having remained frozen since 199s4.

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan maintain the other side began the fighting, with conflicting reports about details and casualties.

Russia's deployment last week of a new fleet of MIG-29 fighter jets and MI-8MT helicopters to the Erebuni Airbase in Armenia has raised concerns about Moscow's growing military presence in the region. This could have far-reaching consequences, beyond the strategic encirclement of Turkey, for the future of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as well as broader regional security and stability.

The Turkish government has expressed concern an agreement between Russia and Armenia to unify their air defense systems and Armenia's recent statement that a ceasefire with arch-foe Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh virtually no longer exists will increase the risk of clashes in the Caucasus. 

Armenia said on Dec. 22 that the ceasefire with arch-foe Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh virtually no longer exists, describing frequent skirmishes at the frontline as "war."

Azerbaijan and the Armenia-backed breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh yesterday bickered about how many of their soldiers had been killed in clashes that have stoked fears of a wider conflict breaking out in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijani forces on Sept.24 shelled Armenia, killing three civilian women, officials in Yerevan said, as tensions mounted in the Caucasus neighbours' decades-long conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.