Moscow: Armenia on Tuesday asked Russia to help defend it against Azerbaijan after border clashes where he said 15 of his soldiers had been killed, 12 were arrested, and two combat positions were gone.
The battle was the worst since the War 44 days last year fought between Armenian ethnic forces and the Azeri army over the pocket of Nagorno-Karabakh which killed at least 6,500 people and ended with a decisive victory for Azerbaijan.
The conflict ended after Russia mediated a peace agreement and mobilized nearly 2,000 peacekeepers to the region.
Turkey took the Azerbaijan side, who returned a land plot that was lost in the previous conflict.
In a series of statements carried by Armenian and Russian news agencies, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said his troops were under fire from Azeri artillery, small arms and armor.
It was said that 15 of his troops were killed, 12 were arrested and that two combat positions near the border with Azerbaijan had been lost.
“Because Azerbaijan has attacked the Sovereign Armenian region, we asked Russia to maintain the integrity of Armenian region based on the 1987 agreement (reciprocal defense) in our countries,” said the Interfax news agency quoted Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of the Armenian Security Council, said.
Russia has a military base in Armenia and peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.
There is no direct response from Russia to Armenian appeal.
The Azeri Ministry of Defense said that he had launched a military operation to respond to what was called a large-scale “provocation of the Armenian side and in a statement blaming Armenian political-political leadership.
Armenian forces have taken the position of Azeri Army with artillery and fire mortar and its own operations successfully.
“The Azerbaijan army has an operational and tactical advantage,” he said in the same statement, saying it target Armenian troops and hardware along the border.
“The servicemen Armenia leaves their position in fear and panic.
Military equipment belonging to the opponent has been destroyed.”