De facto ethnic Armenian military authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh say the situation in the breakaway region has stabilized after a flare-up in violence with Azerbaijani forces that left three soldiers dead and prompted Baku to take control of several strategic heights in the disputed region.
A day after each side blamed the other for cease-fire violations that saw one Azerbaijani soldier and two from ethnic Armenian forces killed, the de facto ethnic Armenian military authorities said on August 4 that despite some sporadic gunfire, "steps to stabilize the situation continue to be taken with the mediation of the command of the Russian military," which is overseeing the situation.
Armenia lost control over parts of the breakaway region and seven adjacent districts as part of the Russian-brokered cease-fire. An estimated 2,000 Russian troops have been deployed to monitor the situation.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been under ethnic Armenian control for nearly three decades prior to the war in 2020, is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
The recent cease-fire violations drew an immediate international rebuke, with Russia accusing Baku of violating the brittle cease-fire and the United States and the European Union urging an "immediate" cessation of hostilities.
"The recent increase in tensions underscores the need for a negotiated, comprehensive, and sustainable settlement of all remaining issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry says ethnic Armenian troops opened fire on August 3 on Azerbaijani Army positions in the district of Lachin, which has been under the control of Russian peacekeepers since November 2020, killing Azerbaijani conscript Anar Kazimov.
Ethnic Armenian military authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh, in turn, accused Azerbaijan of a major cease-fire violation with the use of grenade launchers and drones, claiming that two ethnic Armenian soldiers were killed, and 14 others wounded in separate attacks.
The violence prompted the breakaway region's separatist leader, Arayik Haratiunian, to sign a decree on partial mobilization.