Azerbaijan Alleges Karabakh Cease-Fire Violations

Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of cease-fire violations near the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry issued statements on January 7 and 8 accusing Armenian forces of opening fire on Azerbaijani positions in the Agdam, Fizuli, and Hojavend districts, which are partially controlled by Armenian troops.

No one was hurt in the reported incidents.

Neither Armenian nor Nagorno-Karabakh officials have commented on the reports.

Meanwhile, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said on January 8 that the two countries' foreign ministers will meet in Paris later this month to continue talks on a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenian-backed separatists seized Nagorno-Karabakh and several districts around it from Azerbaijan in a war that killed 30,000 people in the 1990s.

Diplomatic efforts to settle the conflict since then have brought no results.

With reporting by Interfax