EU deplores deadly clashes at Azerbaijani-Armenian border

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The EU condemned on Wednesday the recent deadly incident in the Armenia-Azerbaijan border area and called on the two countries to relaunch talks on the delimitation of borders.

“The EU deplores the armed clashes that yesterday led to several Armenian and Azerbaijani servicemen being killed or injured on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in the area of Tegh,” the spokesperson of the EU diplomatic service, Nabila Massrali, wrote in a statement.

The EU, which stressed the need to show restraint, urged both parties to intensify talks on the delimitation of borders and expressed readiness to mediate the negotiations.

In the meantime, the bloc called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect the 1991 line and withdraw “to safe distances from this line to prevent any similar incidents from occurring.”

Three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed on Tuesday during an attack by Armenian forces in the Lachin district of the East Zangezur region.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.