Armenia seeks Russia help to defend it against Azerbaijan

We are asking Russia to defend Armenia’s territorial integrity, says Armenian official

MOSCOW:

Armenia has asked Russia to help defend its territorial sovereignty against Azerbaijan after a reported heavy border clash, Russia’s TASS news agency said on Tuesday.

Tensions between Yerevan and Baku remain high after a 44-day war last year between ethnic Armenian forces and the Azeri army, backed by Turkey, that killed at least 6,500 people and ended in a decisive victory for Azerbaijan.

The Azeri defence ministry earlier on Tuesday spoke of what it said was a tense situation on the border with Armenia where it said a military operation was underway.

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It said Armenian forces were shelling Azeri army positions with artillery and mortar fire.

Armenia was cited by the Interfax news agency as accusing the Azeris of launching an attack.

“Since Azerbaijan has attacked Armenia’s sovereign territory we are asking Russia to defend Armenia’s territorial integrity based on an existing 1987 (mutual defence) agreement between our countries,” Interfax cited Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, as saying.

Russia has a military base in Armenia as well as a peacekeeping force in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave where last year’s war unfolded.

There was no immediate response from Russia to the Armenian appeal.