Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis

Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev has said that the decades-long conflict between Baku and Yerevan has finally given way to an unprecedented opportunity for peace that the sides have never had before.

In response to the injury of an Azerbaijani soldier stationed at the border due to gunfire from Armenia, Azerbaijan has carried out a retaliatory fire, with the Armenian Defense Ministry unveiling that its four soldiers were killed.

Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan have surged once again, with Armenia accusing Azerbaijan of a deadly attack that claimed the lives of two soldiers and left several others injured. This accusation follows a similar claim made by Baku just a day prior, alleging that one of its soldiers had been wounded in a separate incident.

An Azerbaijan parliamentary commission called Thursday for the expulsion of French companies from the oil-rich country, including energy giant TotalEnergies, in the latest deterioration of relations between Baku and Paris.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly hit out at France for criticising Baku's Karabakh offensive last year, and for plans by Paris officials to help arm neighbouring Armenia.

Azerbaijan told France Wednesday not to "intervene" in its internal affairs after Baku arrested a Frenchman on espionage charges with tensions running high between the two countries.

Baku has accused France of supporting Azerbaijan's arch-enemy Armenia, both diplomatically and militarily, and of seeking to fuel tensions in the South Caucasus.

Türkiye has hailed a deal between arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan to swap prisoners of war and work toward normalizing ties torn by decades of strife over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Azerbaijan reclaimed the long-disputed enclave after a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists in September.

Arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan said Thursday they would exchange prisoners of war and work towards normalising their relations, in a joint statement hailed by the European Union and the United States as a breakthrough after three decades of conflict over disputed territory.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held calls with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders yesterday to discuss stalled peace talks between the Caucasus rivals.

Washington, Brussels and Moscow have all been engaged in diplomatic efforts to normalize relations between the two countries, but a broad peace deal has remained elusive.

The prolonged dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia has, on the whole, been settled, as the parties only need to implement additional tangible measures to completely restore and normalize their relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

On one of the roads leading to Armenia, the destination of those leaving, a column of hundreds of cars was formed, the BBC reports.
Azerbaijan says residents will be safe, but Armenia's prime minister claims "ethnic cleansing" has begun.
Nagorno-Karabakh, recognized as part of Azerbaijan, has been run by ethnic Armenians for three decades, according to the BBC.