Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of violating 'fragile' truce

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other ofseriously violating the terms of a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, within minutes of the truce taking effect -- raising questions about how meaningful it would turn out to be.

Fresh explosions rocked the capital of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region on Saturday despite theceasefire.

The leader of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region described hostilities with Azerbaijan as calmer on the second day of a ceasefire brokered by Russia, but said that the truce was "fragile".

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"It seems that since this morning it is calmer, but that can change very quickly," Arayik Harutyunyan told journalists in the regional capital Stepanakert, despite reports earlier Sunday of shelling on civilian areas by both sides.

Azerbaijan said Sunday that shelling by Armenian forces on the country's second largest city had left seven people dead, one day after a ceasefire between the two sides had been due to take effect.

A "new nightly missile attack by Armenian forces on (a) residential area of Ganja," left seven dead and 33 wounded including children, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry wrote on Twitter.

The agreed halt to fighting that has raged for two weeks entered into force at noon on Saturday and was approved by Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in marathon Russia-brokered talks in Moscow.

Thetalks were the first diplomatic contact between the two since fighting over the mountainous enclave erupted.The most recent fighting since September 27 has been the heaviest since the 1990s war, with more than 450 people reported dead, thousands forced to flee their homes and fears the fighting could escalate into a devastating all-out conflict.

The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.

The Armenian defence ministry accused Azerbaijan of shelling a settlement inside Armenia, while ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh alleged that Azeri forces had launched a new offensive five minutes after the truce took hold and killed two civilians.

Azerbaijan said enemy forces in Karabakh were shelling Azeri territory and that one civilian had been killed. Both sides have consistently denied each others' assertions in what has also become a war of words accompanying the fighting.

Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said the truce would last only for as long as it took for the Red Cross to arrange the exchange of the dead.

Speaking at a briefing in Baku, he said Azerbaijan hoped and expected to take control of more territory in time.

Armenia's foreign ministry said it was using all diplomatic channels to try to support the truce, while Nagorno-Karabakh's foreign ministry accused Azerbaijan of using ceasefire talks as cover to ready military action.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who had mediated over 10 hours of talks, earlier said in a statement early on Saturday the ceasefire had been agreed on humanitarian grounds.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it stood ready to facilitate the handover of bodies of those killed in action and the simultaneous release of detainees.
Lavrov said Armenia and Azerbaijan had also agreed to enter into what he called substantive peace talks.

Those talks would be held under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group, he said. The group is co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States.

The ceasefire deal was announcedby Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He said the truce had been agreed "on humanitarian grounds" and would allow for exchanges of prisoners and bodies.

The Red Cross offered to act as a "neutral intermediary" to facilitate the handover of bodies and detainees.

The Russian ministry said Saturday evening that Lavrov had spoken to his counterparts in Armenia and Azerbaijan who "confirmed their commitment" to the deal and "stressed the need for its strict observance on the ground."

Renewed fighting in the decades-old conflict has raised fears of a wider war drawing in Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a defence pact with Armenia.

The clashes have also increased concern about the security of pipelines that carry Azeri oil and gas to Europe.

The fighting is the worst since a 1991-94 war that killed about 30,000 people and ended with a ceasefire that has been violated repeatedly.

Lavrov said that Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed at the Moscow talks to "substantive negotiations" on resolving the dispute over Karabakh, with France, Russia and the United States continuing as longtime mediators.

France called for the ceasefire to be strictly respected "in order to create the conditions for a permanent cessation of hostilities."

Karabakh's declaration of independence has not been recognised by any country -- even Armenia -- and the international community regards it as part of Azerbaijan.

The return of fighting has stoked fears of a full-blown war embroiling Turkey, which strongly backs Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a military treaty with Armenia.

Turkey said the ceasefire agreement was an important first step but that Armenia had a "last chance" to withdraw from Karabakh.

Since the conflict restarted both sides have accused the other of shelling areas populated by civilians and thousands of people have been displaced by the clashes.

The Azeri and Turkish foreign ministers also spoke by phone on Saturday.

(with inputs from agencies)