(C) Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty This story was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Armenia, Azerbaijan Trade Truce Violation Accusations Ahead Of U.S.-Mediated Talks [1] ['Rfe Rl'] Date: 2022-11 Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating a truce along their tense border ahead of another round of talks between the two rivals. The fresh tensions come as Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, are set to meet in Washington on November 7 for peace talks hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. As Moscow finds itself facing growing international isolation for its invasion of Ukraine, the United States and the European Union have stepped up efforts to mediate talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani forces opened fire on Armenian positions "in the eastern sector of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border", the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement. The statement said there were "no casualties, and the situation on the frontline was relatively stable" early on November 7. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on November 7 called on both parties to "refrain from actions and steps that could lead to an escalation of tensions." Russian President Vladimir Putin met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on October 31, a month after the worst clashes between the Caucasus neighbors since they fought a bloody war in 2020. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh for years. Armenian-backed separatists seized the mainly Armenian-populated region from Azerbaijan during a war in the early 1990s that killed some 30,000 people. The two sides fought another war in 2020 that lasted six weeks and killed thousands of people on both sides before a Russia-brokered cease-fire, resulting in Armenia losing control over parts of the region, which is part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent districts. Under the cease-fire Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to the region to serve as peacekeepers. Davit Babayan, a de facto foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, dismissed reports that appeared in Azerbaijan over the weekend about Russian peacekeepers carrying out arms deliveries to the region. Babayan described as "information terrorism" reports about the transfer of military equipment to Nagorno-Karabakh through the Lachin corridor, which connects the region to Armenia and is controlled by Russian peacekeepers. He claimed Azerbaijan may use the reports as a pretext for another provocation against the region's ethnic Armenians in order "to undermine the agreement" regarding the Lachin corridor. "Naturally, no military equipment has been transported because there are cameras. Everything is under surveillance," Babayan said. The Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh said on Telegram on November 5 that 12 tons of humanitarian cargo had been delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh. The Russian side said the peacekeepers had already handed over basic necessities and food packages to 324 families in the Martuni area of Nagorno-Karabakh. Suspicions about shipments were raised by a video posted on the Internet on the same day purporting to show several trucks with the inscription Russian Army on them driving out of a cargo plane at a Yerevan airport and then traveling to Nagorno-Karabakh. Telegram channels in Azerbaijan also alleged that authorities in Baku prohibited a Russian Air Force plane from flying into Armenia through Azerbaijani airspace and that the aircraft, which allegedly carried weapons, had to make a detour to reach Armenia via Iran. There has been no comment on the matter from officials in Baku, Moscow, or Yerevan. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-azerbaijan-karabakh-taks-blinken-truce-violations/32119163.html Published and (C) by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Content appears here under this condition or license: By permission of RFE/RL. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/rferl/