Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of firing on its military positions early Sunday, just days after both nations reached a draft peace agreement aimed at resolving decades of conflict. Azerbaijani defense officials have claimed that Armenian troops opened fire from the Goris region in southeastern Armenia's Syunik province.
Armenian officials denied these allegations, asserting that Azerbaijan is disseminating misinformation. The Armenian Defense Ministry stated that the claims do not reflect reality and emphasized that it had previously proposed a joint mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations. However, they noted that Azerbaijan has yet to respond to this initiative.
The recent accusations come on the heels of a significant diplomatic development. Azerbaijan and Armenia announced an agreement on Thursday regarding the terms of a peace treaty, which aims to end nearly 40 years of hostilities over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. This area, historically populated predominantly by ethnic Armenians, declared independence from Azerbaijan in the late 1980s with Armenia's support, igniting a series of conflicts.
Despite the progress towards peace, the situation remains unstable. Both nations have faced sporadic violence since a September 2023 military operation by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, which displaced thousands of ethnic Armenians. The recent accusations of gunfire further complicate the fragile peace process.