Pashinyan suggests setting up Russian border patrol posts along Armenian-Azeri border

TASS, Russia

According to acting Armenian Prime Minister, "this would provide the opportunity to carry out works on the delimitation and demarcation without running the risk of military clashes"

YEREVAN, July 29. /TASS/. Acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday suggested setting up Russian border patrol posts along the entire Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

"Given the current situation, it would be advisable to consider the issue of deploying Russian border guard posts along the entire Armenian-Azerbaijani border. This would provide the opportunity to carry out works on the delimitation and demarcation [of the border] without running the risk of military clashes," Pashinyan told a government meeting.

Pashinyan noted that he planned to discuss this issue with his Russian colleagues, stressing that Armenia was set to take all the necessary steps to ensure peace and stability in the region.

On Wednesday, according to both sides, intense skirmishes erupted on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. According to Baku, two Azerbaijani military servicemen were wounded, while Yerevan said that three Armenian soldiers had been killed and five others were wounded. Later in the day, a deal on a ceasefire effective 09:00 Moscow time on July 28 was reached thanks to Russia’s initiative. However, on Thursday, the sides reported new shellings of their positions.

The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border has been tense since May 12 when Armenia’s Defense Ministry said that the Azerbaijani armed forces had tried to carry out "certain activities" in a border area in the Syunik Province in a bid to "adjust the border." Territorial disputes between the two sides have surfaced sporadically since then.