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Armenian and Azerbaijani troops have clashed in the heaviest fighting in months over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region, leaving at least four Armenian soldiers dead, officials said Saturday.
With tensions rising between the two rival nations, Armenia's defence ministry said in a statement that four soldiers had been killed and four wounded after Azerbaijani forces attacked separatist positions late Friday.
The ministry also claimed that an Azerbaijani soldier had been killed.
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu confirmed the fighting had taken place but blamed Armenian forces for the attack and said Yerevan was understating its losses.
"Armenian armed forces breached the ceasefire. They have lost even more soldiers than they admit," he told AFP. He refused to comment on casualties among Azerbaijani soldiers.
Aliyev earlier this month threatened to withdraw from foreign-backed peace talks after he accused Armenia of stalling the negotiations.
International mediators have been pushing since 2007 for the two sides to agree to the so-called Madrid principles -- a deal which would see Armenian forces withdraw from areas surrounding Karabakh, international peacekeepers deployed in the region, refugees granted the right to return and an eventual vote on the region's status.
Azerbaijan's foreign ministry accused Armenia of provoking the violence by delaying in negotiations.
"There is a fairly simple way to avoid armed conflict. It is to sit down at the negotiating table and continue working on the basis of the updated Madrid principles," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov told AFP.
ANP/AFP
*Time to get Karabakh back!*
With tensions rising between the two rival nations, Armenia's defence ministry said in a statement that four soldiers had been killed and four wounded after Azerbaijani forces attacked separatist positions late Friday.
The ministry also claimed that an Azerbaijani soldier had been killed.
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu confirmed the fighting had taken place but blamed Armenian forces for the attack and said Yerevan was understating its losses.
"Armenian armed forces breached the ceasefire. They have lost even more soldiers than they admit," he told AFP. He refused to comment on casualties among Azerbaijani soldiers.
Aliyev earlier this month threatened to withdraw from foreign-backed peace talks after he accused Armenia of stalling the negotiations.
International mediators have been pushing since 2007 for the two sides to agree to the so-called Madrid principles -- a deal which would see Armenian forces withdraw from areas surrounding Karabakh, international peacekeepers deployed in the region, refugees granted the right to return and an eventual vote on the region's status.
Azerbaijan's foreign ministry accused Armenia of provoking the violence by delaying in negotiations.
"There is a fairly simple way to avoid armed conflict. It is to sit down at the negotiating table and continue working on the basis of the updated Madrid principles," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov told AFP.
ANP/AFP
*Time to get Karabakh back!*