Armenian PM Accuses Azeri Forces of Breaching Border, Sacks Defense Minister

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attends a meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan September 16, 2021. (Reuters)
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attends a meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan September 16, 2021. (Reuters)
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Armenian PM Accuses Azeri Forces of Breaching Border, Sacks Defense Minister

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attends a meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan September 16, 2021. (Reuters)
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attends a meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan September 16, 2021. (Reuters)

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan's troops on Monday of violating the border between the two countries and sacked his defense minister, the Interfax news agency reported.

Another Russian news agency, RIA, quoted Armenia's Security Council as saying the incident took place on Sunday but the Azeri troops had since left.

Interfax quoted an Azeri foreign ministry spokesperson as saying Azeri forces were operating on the country's own sovereign territory and accusing Armenia of "provocations."

The incident marked an escalation of tensions between the two former Soviet republics, which fought a 44-day war last year that killed at least 6,500 people and ended in a decisive victory for Azerbaijan.

Pashinyan did not say on what scale the alleged incursion had taken place but told a security council meeting that he had dismissed minister Arshak Karapetyan over the incident.

TASS news agency said Armenia had reported the episode to Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military alliance of post-Soviet states.

Last year's war over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh was ended by a Russian-brokered deal under which Moscow deployed 1,960 peacekeepers to the region for an initial five-year period.

But the accord left many questions unresolved, including the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenians who live there, who numbered up to 150,000 before the war



Erdogan Tells Xi He Wants Türkiye-China Ties to Continue Improving

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech on January 17, 2022 REUTERS/Florion Goga//File Photo
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech on January 17, 2022 REUTERS/Florion Goga//File Photo
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Erdogan Tells Xi He Wants Türkiye-China Ties to Continue Improving

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech on January 17, 2022 REUTERS/Florion Goga//File Photo
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech on January 17, 2022 REUTERS/Florion Goga//File Photo

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday that he wanted steps to improve Türkiye-China ties in all areas to continue, Türkiye's presidency said, adding he believed this would benefit both countries, Reuters reported.

In a statement, it said they met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in the Kazakh capital Astana and discussed the Russia-Ukraine war.

They also discussed the fighting in Gaza, with Erdogan calling for "effective measures" by the international community to prevent either conflict from spreading.