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ARMENIA ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OF KILLING SOLDIER AHEAD OF TALKS
Agence France Presse
October 26, 2010 Tuesday 6:41 PM GMT
Armenia on Tuesday accused Azerbaijani forces of killing an ethnic
Armenian soldier in the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region in a bid
to disrupt peace talks on the eve of a summit.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is to host the summit in the city
of Astrakhan Wednesday with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to push for a resolution to the
longstanding conflict over Karabakh.
Ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized control of
Karabakh from Azerbaijan during a war in the early 1990s that left
an estimated 30,000 dead and the region remains outside Azerbaijani
control.
Armenia's defence ministry said in a statement that a 20-year-old
soldier with Karabakh's defence forces had been killed Tuesday after
Azerbaijani forces opened fire along a ceasefire line.
"The defence ministry of Armenia strongly condemns another step by
Azerbaijan aimed at destabilising the situation before the meeting
of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia," the ministry
said in a statement.
"All responsibility for such provocations lies with the Azerbaijani
side," the ministry said.
Tensions over Karabakh have been increasing this year amid stalled
peace talks, with the number of deadly skirmishes along the ceasefire
line on the rise for months.
At least 20 soldiers on both sides have been reported killed in
clashes this year, including eight soldiers killed last month alone.
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are spread along a ceasefire line in
and around Nagorny Karabakh, often facing each other at close range,
and shootings are common.
From: A. Papazian
Agence France Presse
October 26, 2010 Tuesday 6:41 PM GMT
Armenia on Tuesday accused Azerbaijani forces of killing an ethnic
Armenian soldier in the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region in a bid
to disrupt peace talks on the eve of a summit.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is to host the summit in the city
of Astrakhan Wednesday with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to push for a resolution to the
longstanding conflict over Karabakh.
Ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized control of
Karabakh from Azerbaijan during a war in the early 1990s that left
an estimated 30,000 dead and the region remains outside Azerbaijani
control.
Armenia's defence ministry said in a statement that a 20-year-old
soldier with Karabakh's defence forces had been killed Tuesday after
Azerbaijani forces opened fire along a ceasefire line.
"The defence ministry of Armenia strongly condemns another step by
Azerbaijan aimed at destabilising the situation before the meeting
of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia," the ministry
said in a statement.
"All responsibility for such provocations lies with the Azerbaijani
side," the ministry said.
Tensions over Karabakh have been increasing this year amid stalled
peace talks, with the number of deadly skirmishes along the ceasefire
line on the rise for months.
At least 20 soldiers on both sides have been reported killed in
clashes this year, including eight soldiers killed last month alone.
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are spread along a ceasefire line in
and around Nagorny Karabakh, often facing each other at close range,
and shootings are common.
From: A. Papazian