BAKU, November 18. /TASS/. The Armenian Armed Forces opened fire at Azerbaijani positions in the Tovuz border district late on Wednesday night, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Armenian Armed Forces shelled Azerbaijani positions in the Munjuglu, Aghbulag, Gosha, Kokhanebi and Asrik Jirdakhan settlements of the Tovuz region, intermittently firing in the direction of the Chinarli and Mughanjig settlements of the Shamshaddin region, between 05:54 and 10:52 pm on November 17. The shelling involved weapons of various calibers,” the statement reads.

According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the attacks were suppressed by return fire.

Intense fighting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces broke out in the border areas of Armenia’s Syunik region on Tuesday. Yerevan said that the Azerbaijani armed forces had launched an offensive into Armenia’s territory, which threatened an international highway connecting the Armenian capital with the country’s southern regions and Iran. Baku laid the blame on Yerevan, accusing the Armenian Armed Forces of staging a provocation. According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Armenian troops attacked Azerbaijani positions. In such a situation, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held separate telephone talks with his counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan, Suren Papikyan and Zakir Hasanov. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that following the conversations, the Armenian and Azerbaijani defense chiefs took measures to stabilize the situation on the border.