Armenia Reports New Border Clashes with Azerbaijan

Image copyright: AFP [via France 24]

The Facts

  • Following border clashes on Thursday which left one Azerbaijani soldier dead and four Armenian troops injured, Armenia claimed that clashes again erupted on Friday morning as recent escalations threaten to derail EU-led weekend peace talks between the Caucasus rivals.

  • Armenia's defense ministry said that Azerbaijani forces "violated the ceasefire" after an alleged drone attack in the Sotk region, adding that “two servicemen of the Armenian armed forces were wounded," with one of them left in critical condition.


The Spin

Narrative A

Azerbaijan continues to escalate the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with provocative actions, as it wants to test the waters for a spring offensive against Armenia. Ethnic Armenians are facing continued oppression in Nagorno-Karabakh while the international community remains silent. Azerbaijan cannot continue making its aggressive threats.

Narrative B

Armenia's leadership thinks it can escalate tensions while also playing the victim in the Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. EU observers in the region have given Armenia the green light to provoke Azerbaijan by saying that Baku is planning a new offensive, for which there is simply no evidence. It seems, yet again, that it is Yerevan that wants more violence.


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