Armenia Accuses Azerbaijani Forces of Killing Soldier, Baku Denies

The Armenian Ministry of Defense announced that "Azerbaijani forces shot and killed one of its soldiers near the borders of the two countries today, Monday, but Baku stated that this report is a 'pure lie'." The Armenian Ministry of Defense mentioned in a statement that "Azerbaijani forces opened fire this afternoon on an Armenian military site in Parghoruni near its border with the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan," adding that "an investigation is underway into the incident, without providing further details." In response to a question from Reuters, a spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense stated that the report from Armenia "does not reflect the truth and is pure deception." They firmly denied "the provocative information coming from the other side." Azerbaijan and Armenia have previously expressed their desire to reach a peace agreement, but they have yet to agree on demarcating their common border, which remains closed and heavily fortified. If this incident is confirmed, it would be the first of its kind since Azerbaijan regained Nagorno-Karabakh in September during a swift military offensive that led to the mass displacement of nearly 120,000 Armenians in the region.