YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenian and Azerbaijani troops exchanged artillery fire Thursday along their tense border, leaving at least one soldier dead and several others wounded in the latest bout of escalation between the longtime adversaries that threatened to derail their latest attempts at peace talks.
The two countries’ authorities traded blame for triggering the clashes and accused each other of trying to undermine negotiations on a prospective peace deal.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijani forces opened artillery fire on Armenian positions near the town of Sotk in the eastern Gegharkunik province, leaving four Armenian soldiers wounded.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that one Azerbaijani soldier was killed and another one was wounded by Armenian fire.
The exchange of fire follows U.S.-hosted peace talks earlier this month between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign minister, which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said had achieved “tangible progress.” Blinken said that he believed a peace deal could be “within sight, within reach” and praised the two sides for coming together to try to find common ground.
