Armenia and Azerbaijan report on shooting at border

Local battles are taking place in the northeastern direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Yerevan said. The parties accused each other of provocations. The Armenian Defense Ministry announced that on the night of Wednesday, July 28, clashes broke out in the northeastern section of the border with Azerbaijan. Yerevan accused Baku of provocation. "All responsibility for the aggravation of the situation lies with the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan," the Armenian side said in a statement. In turn, Baku accused armed forces of Armenia of provocations. During the shelling on the territory of the Kelbajar region, two Azerbaijani solders were injured, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claims. Baku blames Yerevan for the escalation of tensions on the border. Escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The conflict between Yerevan and Baku over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated in the summer of 2020, and at the end of September entered the phase of large-scale hostilities. More than 6,000 people became victims of the clashes. In early November, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin signed a statement on a complete ceasefire and all hostilities in the disputed region from November 10. This sparked massive protests in Yerevan, criticizing the head of government. Nagorno-Karabakh unilaterally declared independence from Azerbaijan after the collapse of the USSR. The independence of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is not recognized by any country. The negotiation process aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict is being conducted under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by Russia, France and the United States.