Armenia and Azerbaijan Accuse Each Other of Shelling

The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan claimed Armenian forces had shelled Azerbaijan positions twice on the night of 16 June. Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia accused Baku of spreading misinformation. According to the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry, the first shelling towards Galakand settlement of Gadabay district took place from 00:15 to 00:20 (23:15-23:20 Moscow time). The second shelling by “illegal Armenian armed formations” towards Shusha district took place from 00:50 to 04:10 (23:50-03:10 Moscow time). Later, the Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense reported another shelling. According to the ministry, at 09:15 (8:15 a.m. Moscow time) Armenian forces shelled Heydarabad of Sadarak district. Following this, the Armenian military authorities claimed that the Azerbaijan army shelled a steel factory in Yeraskh at 10:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. Moscow time). On 14 June, Yerevan also blamed Baku for the shelling of the factory. Two Indian citizens were injured in the incident, according to the Armenian Defense Ministry. On 11 June a Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh recorded two ceasefire violations in the Shusha district. The incident is under investigation. In May, a series of talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh took place. On 25 May, the sides reported a resolution of the territorial dispute. Nevertheless, a peace treaty was never signed due to the persistence of disagreements between the countries.