Azerbaijan says Armenia has scaled up cross-border attacks.ANKARA Mortars and artillery fire landed in the border districts of Kalbajar and Lachin last night and this morning, the ministry said in a statement.The Azerbaijani army took "adequate" retaliatory measures, it added.No casualties and damages were reported.Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of “large-scale provocations” in recent days, which resulted in fatalities on both sides, including 50 Azerbaijani soldiers and 49 Armenian soldiers, according to official accounts of the latest flare-up.In Monday's attacks by Armenia, two farmers were injured with one being in critical condition, according to a joint statement of Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry and Chief Prosecutor's Office.Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.Azerbaijan liberated several cities and over 300 settlements and villages in 2020 that were occupied by Armenia. The fighting ended with a deal brokered by Russia.
Azerbaijani and Russian foreign ministers had a phone call on Tuesday to discuss the renewed fighting on the Armenia and Azerbaijan border.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov briefed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov about the situation caused by the “extensive provocation” of the Armenian army and the steps taken by Azerbaijan to prevent the attack, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.Bayramov said Armenia constantly fired on Azerbaijani positions and laid mines on the lands last month. The Armenian armed forces, he further said, did not completely withdraw from the territory of Azerbaijan despite the tripartite declarations.Lavrov stressed the importance of the full implementation of the tripartite declarations signed between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, and the necessity of preventing conflicts in the region.Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of “large-scale provocations” in recent days, saying saboteurs planted mines and Armenian forces carried out “intensive” firing on Azerbaijani positions.These actions by Armenian forces led to the confrontation, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said, adding that there were casualties on both sides, including 50 Azerbaijani soldiers.Meanwhile, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said 49 Armenian soldiers have been killed in the latest border flare-up with Azerbaijan.Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.In 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia, and the fighting ended with a deal brokered by Russia.