The Russian defense ministry said on Saturday that it was holding military exercises amid deadly border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The ministry, however, said that the training—which involved around 150,000 troops and more than 400 aircraft—was part of a routine check of the army’s combat readiness and capacity to secure the country’s southwestern region, and denied any links between the drills and the fighting taking place in the Caucasus region.
Also Read: Deadly Clashes Between Armenia and Azerbaijan at Disputed Territory
At least 16 Azeri and Armenian soldiers have been killed due to the recent uptick in violence between the two neighboring nations, who have been engaged in constant conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region since the fall of the Soviet Union. The war between ethnic Armenians and ethnic Azerbaijanis in the disputed territory lasted till around 1994, with both Baku and Yerevan continuing to hold claims over it.
The situation worsened in the early 90s when the Autonomous Oblast of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to join Armenia, increasing violence and displacing thousands by 1992. The violence was contained by a Russia-mediated ceasefire in 1994. After this, the independent enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh held a public referendum—that was boycotted by Azerbaijan—in which the people chose to be independent rather than joining either country. However, this has not deterred both countries’ forces from engaging in frequent clashes at the bordering region, with each side accusing the other of instigating violence and instability. Baku has also warned Yerevan that it could strike the Metsamor nuclear power station if its Mingechavir reservoir or other strategic outlets succumbed to army shelling.
Russia, which has a military base in Armenia has called on both countries to exercise restraint and has even offered to act as a mediator to resolve the dispute. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with his Azeri counterpart Sakir Hasanov via phone on Saturday and discussed the clashes. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan meanwhile, criticized Azerbaijan’s actions, saying that they posed a serious threat to both Armenia and the world and that a threat to attack one of its nuclear power stations amounted to “threatening to commit terrorism”. Moscow supplies weapons to Yerevan and considers Armenia an important strategic partner in the region.