Renewed fighting threatens truce

BAKU/YEREVAN－Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Monday of violating a new United States-brokered cease-fire in fighting over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, casting doubt over the prospects of the latest international push to end a month of clashes.

A new agreement on a truce took affect at 8 am local time on Monday. The deal was announced in a joint statement by the governments of the US, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Two previous Russia-brokered cease-fires, including one last weekend, frayed immediately after taking effect, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

But within minutes, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said in a statement that Armenian forces had shelled villages in the Terter and Lachin regions.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials denied this and said Azerbaijan's forces had launched a missile attack on Armenian military positions on the northeastern side on the line of contact. Armenia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that Azerbaijan violated the cease-fire at around 9:10 am local time.

World powers want to prevent a wider war that might draw in Turkey, which has voiced strong support for Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a security pact with Armenia. The conflict has also strained relations between Ankara and its NATO allies.

It also worried Iran, which has borders with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Iran has occasionally complained about stray mortar rounds and rockets that injured people and damaged buildings in rural areas near the borders.

Peaceful resolution

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a cease-fire was reached, but there have been sporadic minor clashes. A new round of armed conflict broke out on Sept 27.

Both countries maintained they were committed to a peaceful resolution and blamed each other for hindering peace.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet on Sunday night that the US facilitated "an intensive negotiation" and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov "have committed to implement and abide by the cease-fire".

Russia, the US and France, co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to mediate the conflict, also took part in the talks, Pompeo said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement and reiterated his appeal to Armenia and Azerbaijan to fully implement it without delay and "resume substantive negotiations without preconditions", his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Guterres also called on the parties to allow safe and unimpeded access to humanitarian workers and the delivery of humanitarian assistance and services to civilians in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Dujarric said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that according to Moscow's information, the death toll from the fighting was nearing 5,000, significantly higher than what both sides report, The Associated Press reported.

Agencies - Xinhua