DPA
Moscow
Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating a ceasefire in their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, shortly after it came into force on Saturday at 12 pm (0800 GMT).
Armenian firing after the ceasefire triggered an Azeri response, said Hikmat Hajiyev, a foreign policy aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
"Armenia did not comply with the temporary ceasefire ... Azerbaijan has to respond to the provocation,” Hajiyev told reporters in Baku, alleging Armenia had targeted civilian positions.
Azerbaijan will maintain its struggle for the "full liberation” of occupied territories, Hajiyev said.
According to tweets by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence, Armenian forces fired at several locations in Azerbaijan, and all attacks were staved off.
A spokesperson for Armenia’s armed forces, Shushan Stepanyan, said meanwhile that Azerbaijan had attacked shortly after the ceasefire came into force. Forces in Nagorno-Karabakh reacted with "appropriate measures,” he said.
Before the ceasefire took effect - after hours-long negotiations mediated by Russia - the situation on the ground was already tense.
Armenia reported several airstrikes, including near the city of Kapu, and Stepanyan wrote on Facebook that Azerbaijan was trying to gain an advantage before the ceasefire.
Azerbaijan denied the claims and accused Yerevan of shelling some of its settlements.
Hajiyev said that the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh had to be followed by a "concrete road map” for Armenia to leave the disputed region.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed support for the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, news agency Tass reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called it a "step towards peace” in a tweet.
Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan in the conflict, said the ceasefire was the "last opportunity” for Armenia "to withdraw from the territories it has occupied,” according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.
"The ceasefire which was declared on humanitarian grounds for the exchange of prisoners of war and bodies, is an important first step, but cannot replace a lasting solution,” the statement continued, reiterating support for Baku.
Hundreds of people have died since fighting broke out between Azeri and Armenian forces over the disputed region at the end of September.
Armenia says more than 400 soldiers were killed. Azerbaijan has not made its losses public.
The region is controlled by Christian Armenian troops but recognised by the United Nations as part of predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan and Armenia previously fought a war over the territory in the late 1980s and early 1990s as they transitioned into independent countries amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with a fragile peace treaty in place since 1994.
Moscow
Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating a ceasefire in their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, shortly after it came into force on Saturday at 12 pm (0800 GMT).
Armenian firing after the ceasefire triggered an Azeri response, said Hikmat Hajiyev, a foreign policy aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
"Armenia did not comply with the temporary ceasefire ... Azerbaijan has to respond to the provocation,” Hajiyev told reporters in Baku, alleging Armenia had targeted civilian positions.
Azerbaijan will maintain its struggle for the "full liberation” of occupied territories, Hajiyev said.
According to tweets by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence, Armenian forces fired at several locations in Azerbaijan, and all attacks were staved off.
A spokesperson for Armenia’s armed forces, Shushan Stepanyan, said meanwhile that Azerbaijan had attacked shortly after the ceasefire came into force. Forces in Nagorno-Karabakh reacted with "appropriate measures,” he said.
Before the ceasefire took effect - after hours-long negotiations mediated by Russia - the situation on the ground was already tense.
Armenia reported several airstrikes, including near the city of Kapu, and Stepanyan wrote on Facebook that Azerbaijan was trying to gain an advantage before the ceasefire.
Azerbaijan denied the claims and accused Yerevan of shelling some of its settlements.
Hajiyev said that the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh had to be followed by a "concrete road map” for Armenia to leave the disputed region.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed support for the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, news agency Tass reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called it a "step towards peace” in a tweet.
Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan in the conflict, said the ceasefire was the "last opportunity” for Armenia "to withdraw from the territories it has occupied,” according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.
"The ceasefire which was declared on humanitarian grounds for the exchange of prisoners of war and bodies, is an important first step, but cannot replace a lasting solution,” the statement continued, reiterating support for Baku.
Hundreds of people have died since fighting broke out between Azeri and Armenian forces over the disputed region at the end of September.
Armenia says more than 400 soldiers were killed. Azerbaijan has not made its losses public.
The region is controlled by Christian Armenian troops but recognised by the United Nations as part of predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan and Armenia previously fought a war over the territory in the late 1980s and early 1990s as they transitioned into independent countries amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with a fragile peace treaty in place since 1994.