Armenia, Azerbaijan accuse each other of violating truce

Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating a new “humanitarian truce” over Azerbaijan’s ethnic Armenian-controlled enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh early on Sunday. The agreement came into force at midnight on Sunday (20:00 GMT Saturday). Russia and France said they intervened in an attempt to mediate an end to the latest escalation in violence over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh. Shushan Stepanyan, a spokeswoman for Armenia’s defence ministry, said on Twitter that Azerbaijan had fired artillery shells and rockets in the early hours of Sunday. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence later accused Armenia of not having observed the truce. Agreed on Saturday, the deal came a week after a failed Russia-brokered truce, which also saw the warring sides accusing each other of violations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called his Armenian and Azeri counterparts in the hours before the truce was announced, his ministry said, urging both parties to adhere to the deal brokered in Moscow last week. France also put out a statement after Saturday’s announcement, saying it followed “French mediation … in coordination with the co-chairs of the Minsk Group (Russia and the US)”. The statement from the Elysee Palace also called on both sides to “strictly” respect the truce, adding that “France will pay great attention to that and will remain engaged for a lasting end to hostilities and a quick start of credible negotiations.” style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">