Russia Blames Azerbaijan for Breach of Karabakh Truce in Post-Ceasefire First

The Russian military has blamed Azerbaijan for breaching its volatile truce with Armenia for the first time since deploying its peacekeeping mission, South Caucasus media reported Friday.

Moscow has deployed around 2,000 peacekeepers in and around the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh to observe the ceasefire between the arch-enemies reached last November.

Deadly clashes continued around Nagorno-Karabakh in the months since, with Armenia accusing Azerbaijani forces of several intrusions and seizure of new territories.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that its peacekeepers had observed one truce violation in the previous 24 hours.

“The Azerbaijani armed forces carried out two strikes using attack-type quadcopters on the position of the Nagorno-Karabakh armed formations,” it said on its website. “There were no casualties.”

The Open Caucasus Media news outlet noted that the statement marked the “first time Russian authorities have explicitly blamed…