Baku, Yerevan play blame game over Karabakh truce breach

Azerbaijan and Armenia have accused each other of violating a ceasefire recently agreed to end hostilities in the Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh following four days of fierce fighting in the disputed territory.

According to the reports, in a statement released on Thursday, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that Armenian-backed forces had violated the truce in Karabakh 119 times in the past 24 hours.

In response, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan accused the Azeri troops of shelling populated zones and Armenian armed forces' positions near the town of Vardenis.

"The Azeri armed forces actively shelled Armenian armed forces' units and populated areas located in the direction of … Vardenis … on April 6. The fire was delivered using various firearms, including large-caliber ones, and also 60mm mortars," he told Russia’s Interfax news agency on Thursday.

In another development on Thursday, Russia stressed that it will continue efforts to help resolve the Karabakh conflict.

"Certainly, Moscow will carry on its consistent course [towards the Karabakh settlement]," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

On Wednesday, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan blamed Baku for breaching the truce in Karabakh, but his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, pointed the finger at Yerevan, expressing hope that crisis will be resolved peacefully.

SS