Armenian Defence Ministry Says Repelled Azerbaijan's Attack at Border

YEREVAN (Sputnik) - The Armenian army has repelled an assault by Azerbaijani troops on its military bases at their common border, the Armenian Defenсe Ministry said on Friday.

"On 10 December, at around noon [08:00 GMT], units of the Azerbaijani armed forces attacked Armenian combat positions stationed in the eastern area of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. As a result of the retaliatory actions of the Armenian side, the enemy suffered losses and was thrown back to its original positions," the ministry said in a statement.

Shooting on the border is ongoing, it added.

One Armenian soldier died as a result of a shooting at the border with Azerbaijan, the Armenian Defense Ministry said.

"On 10 December, at around noon [08:00 GMT], as a result of a shootout caused by the aggressive actions of the Azerbaijani armed forces, one person from the Armenian side was killed, several soldiers were wounded," the ministry said in a statement.

Further information about the incident will be released later, the ministry noted.

There have been several recent episodes of border tension flaring up despite the recent agreement between the parties to work towards border demarcation and demilitarization. Armenian President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Russia's Sochi on 26 November, where they discussed steps for the normalization of Yerevan-Baku ties, including stability and security of the border.

The meeting followed border clashes that erupted in mid-November, which claimed dozens of lives from both sides.

The escalation of a long-lasting conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh erupted in September 2020 and ended with a trilateral ceasefire agreement, signed in November of the same year.